Taken for granted
by mogwai1988
Summary: Both Mona Lisa and Venus are fed up with the turtles in their dimension and decide to look for their own destiny. Thanks to a magic scroll the girls end up in the 2k3 universe only to be stuck there with no hope of turning back. - CANCELED-
1. This is what I've become

**Taken for granted by the turtles in their dimension, two girls decide to find their own happiness elsewhere with the help of a magic scroll.  
****This is the story of Mona Lisa and Venus.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Mona, Venus or TMNT.**

**Chapter 1: This is what I've become.**

With a smile she looked into the broken mirror in front of her. Her lips almost had that same Hollywood shine those models had in the fashion magazines she read on occasion.  
Satisfied Mona Lisa put down her lip-gloss on the worn out dresser she found a long time ago.  
With a sigh she flicked the small braid she was wearing backwards and looked at herself once more.

"I can't believe it has been so many years and still I can't get used to this…this monster I became." She whispered to herself her smile disappearing.

Holding up the edges of the white dress she was wearing, Mona spun around to admire herself hoping to find something on her body that would make her change her mind about how she looked.  
This was becoming a ritual for her every time she got all dressed up to go out on a possible second date with Raphael.  
Not that Mona Lisa was even sure that their meeting on the cruise liner would even count as a first date or that the red clad turtle would even show up this time to take her out.

"Why am I even going to all this trouble to dress up?" She asked herself as she glanced at an old clock on the sewer wall.

She was already an hour late with getting herself ready and still there was no sign of her Raphael which came to no surprise to her.

"I'll give him another thirty minutes." She muttered.

Right after saying that a worn out telephone she managed to fix three months ago started to ring. With another sigh the lizard girl picked up the receiver which almost had no trace left of the original red colour it once wore.

"Mona here."

"Hey Mona Lisa. It's Raphael."

Her heart started to beat a bit faster. Was he calling her to say he would be on his way?

"I'm sorry babe but I have to cancel our date tonight. Me and the guys have ta save April again. You get it right?" He continued.

"Sure." She whispered with sadness in her voice.

"Awesome babe! See ya later." He said before hanging up the phone.

Mona inhaled deeply before letting her tear run freely over her cheeks. Although she had this feeling that she should have been used to it by now, whenever the red clad turtle cancelled their dates or didn't bother to show up at all she would burst into tears.  
With shaking hands she walked over to the dresser and picked up a little black notebook and an pencil.

In the notebook she wrote:

_28. Friday 4-7 – 21:00 : saving April._

* * *

Meipeichi always considered herself to be a girl of patience and on top of that one that wasn't easy to get angry.  
But the four brothers she was now forced to live with brought out the worst in her.

"Yo Shinobi. Clean up tha place will ya." Raphael told her with a smug grin on his face.

Frowning the female turtle looked up from her scroll.

"And why would I want to do that? It is your junk isn't it?"

"Sure Venus but you know we have to go out tonight fighting evil and kick butt. We haven't got the time to clean up the lair." The one who called himself leader told her.

"Why can't I come with you to kick butt?" She asked again.

"Because little Shinobi, it's a woman's job to clean the house and you're the only woman here so…"

Hearing this come from the orange clad turtle made her jaw drop.

"Listen Venus you don't have to clean up my corner of the lair. I like working in a little mess." Donatello told her before racing after his brothers.

After they left and she was no longer dumbstruck by Michelangelo's comment, she growled with anger and decided that it was time to make some tea to calm herself.  
Hearing the dented kettle be filled lured out the old rat from his cambers.

"Are you making tea Venus?" He asked her.

She nodded without looking at him.

"Where are my sons?"

"Out kicking butt as they like to call it." She answered.

"Didn't you want to go with them?"

"I asked them and do you know what they said to me Master Splinter. They told me it's a woman's job to clean up the lair and that was what I should be doing." She told him while waiting for the water to boil.

"If memory serves me correct wasn't it you who cleaned our home yesterday?"

"And the day before that and before that and before that. I've been cleaning this place for the last month now. I'm sick and tired of it Master Splinter. They don't do anything around here anymore." She complained making a gesture towards the exit.

"They don't even make their own meals anymore. The only one who isn't demanding things from me is Donatello. But that's because he's to busy working on that device of his." Venus continued.

"Perhaps they have grown to accustom to you being here." He told her.

"I am not their mother Master Splinter. I am an independent girl who isn't waiting for four boys to start demanding female care."

Master Splinter widened his beady eyes. He was surprised to hear how much the girl had grown in the last couple of years she lived with them.  
Not only did her English improve but she had a voice of her own now. She was no longer the slightly shy turtle he once met.

"Next thing you know they will have urges." She told them.

"Urges?...You don't mean?" He asked her his eyes widening even more.

She nodded while pouring the hot water from the kettle into a cup.

"Yes that is exactly what I mean Master Splinter and I will not be the one to help them with it because they have this old fashion thought that it's a woman's duty."

The old rat sighed.

"I understand that you are no longer happy here Meipeichi and that my sons are to blame for that."

"No Sensei that's not true."

"Yes it is child. It is true that my sons haven't been very friendly with you from the beginning. If I remember correctly Leonardo and Raphael both fought each other to get your attention. Donatello teased you without end and even Michelangelo did not take you seriously at times."

She bowed her head knowing it was all true.

"My sons haven't changed. You have my child you have matured."

"I did not wish to change. I do not even feel like myself Sensei."

"Then perhaps it is time for you to return to China Meipeichi." The old rat suggested.

Her eyes stared at him in fear as she felt the stone cup slip from her hands and fall onto the stone floor.

"Back to China? Why I have nobody there I can trust Sensei. Master Chung-I always kept me in hiding. What am I ever to do in China?"

"Find your old self again and let your soul be at peace once more."

"I understand Sensei."

That night the female turtle locked herself up in her room and carefully collected the scrolls she inherited from her master.  
She was startled when she heard the youngest of the brother yell.

"What!"

"She will be returning to China in the morning my sons." Master Splinter continued.

"Good riddance. Who needed tha Shinobi anyway." Raphael growled.

"Will she come back?" Donatello asked hoping it would be a temporary thing.

"I am not sure my son."

Suddenly one she heard one of the boys knocking on her door.

"Venus is it true? Are you leaving?" Leonardo asked her.

"Yes I am." She answered.

"Why? Is it because what we've said before we left this afternoon? We're all so sorry about that Venus."

To her he almost sounded like he was begging her to stay.

"It's not just that Leonardo." She whispered.

"Come on Venus. Stay with us." The youngest asked her.

"Will you stop calling me that!" She suddenly yelled from her place on the floor of the train compartment.

A moment of silence fell.

"Call you what? Venus?" Leonardo suddenly asked.

"Yes that!"

"It's yer name ain't it?" the red clad one asked.

With one swift, angry movement she opened the slide door and met the four brothers with an look of rage on her face.

"That is not my name!" she told Raphael.

"That is the name you four gave me! My name is Meipeichi!" she continued.

After those words she closed the compartment once more and crawled onto thin mattress she called her bed.  
Groaning with frustration she buried her face in the soft pillow beneath her. The groans soon changed into muffled sobs as the female turtle cried herself to sleep.

* * *

A little depressed Mona Lisa stirred into a small pot of soup. The scent of the salty liquid soon filled her little corner of the New York sewer system.  
With doubting eyes she once again glanced at the red phone.  
She couldn't even remember the last time she called her parents. She did remember it was long before she changed into the thing that she is now.  
Leaving the soup on a small flame, she picked up the receiver once again and dialled the number she still had memorised after all these years.  
Nervously the lizard girl twirled the cable of the phone around her fingers and waited for someone to answer.

"_Hello?"_

A smile of glee appeared on her face when she recognized her mothers voice.

"Mom?" she asked back.

A moment of silence fell.

"_Who is this?"_

"It's me Mom. It's Mona."

"_That can't be…Mona Lisa is…she's dead."_

"No I'm not! I'm sorry you must have been worried because I didn't call for the past five years but…"

"_You don't understand dear…I was there when the policemen showed me her body. We buried her over five years ago…my daughter is…"_

"NO! Listen Mom I can prove it to you. Ask anything only your daughter would know, I can answer." Mona tried almost bursting into tears.

Again a moment of silence.

"_I'm sorry. You can't be my daughter."_

With a soft click her mother ended the conversation.

Shocked about what she just heard, Mona kept staring at the phone. Her mother considered her to be dead and gone and believed that she had seen her body like it was suppose to look like.

Who had brainwashed her mother like that?

* * *

She looked at the small alarm clock Donatello made for her last birthday. It was early in the morning and she doubted that the others would be awake now. Sleepily she lit two candles and continued to pack her scrolls and getting ready for her departure.  
Suddenly as she took the last scroll from it's resting place, a small mirror dropped down from the shelf.  
Gently Meipeichi picked it up and looked into it. She frowned at her reflection.

"I can't believe I turned into this angry beast. I hardly recognize myself." She whispered.

She sighed as she put the mirror with the rest of her belongings.

"Master Splinter is right. Perhaps going back to China will help me find myself again."

Before closing the small wooden trunk she had stored her precious scrolls in, she counted and checked them once more.

"Hmm strange. I don't recall ever reading this."

Carefully she opened the scroll and small particles of dust flew up in the air.

"A new charm!" She whispered excitedly when she saw the spell written on the parchment.

Still studying the words on the scroll she muttered them softly like she always did to memorize new spells.  
Suddenly a bright light filled up the room and the female turtle felt a strong force pulling her away.

When the light faded all that was left where the two burning candles and the scrolls of parchment lying ready in the trunk.

**Sorry for any grammar errors everyone. English isn't my first language. I do hope you all enjoyed the first chapter!**

**-mogwai1988-**


	2. This is how we meet

**Chapter two, please enjoy and sorry for any grammar errors in advance.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own TMNT or anything related to TMNT.**

**Taken for granted.  
**

**Chapter two: This is how we meet.**

Meipeichi raised the scroll in front of her face, trying to shield her eyes against the bright flash of light that appeared after whispering the words of the spell.  
She dared to open her eyes again when the sound of talking people and rushing cars filled her ears.  
A feeling of confusion as well as a light nauseating feeling overcame her as an warm breeze danced over her skin.

"Humans!" She gasped as she watched them looking at her whispering amongst themselves.

"What is it?"

"Where did it come from?"

"You know it kinda looks like those guys." She heard them say.

At that moment the female turtle was unable to move away from the staring crowd. To startled by their gazes.  
She now knew how a deer must feel when two headlights would come racing towards it.

"Are you…are you one of the turtles?" A little girl suddenly asked amongst the crowd.

Meipeichi blinked a couple of times.

"Turtles?" She asked in a whisper.

The world surrounding her didn't seem familiar at all as she looked around the lively street she found herself standing on.  
The colours seemed softer, the people looked different and not at all afraid of her.

"Yeah the turtles. They have saved us plenty of times. Are you one of them?" A man asked.

For a moment she didn't know what to answer. Her knees wobbled and the dizziness inside of her head kept growing.

"I…I…"

Suddenly her world turned black as she felt her body hit the hard pavement.

* * *

"Ya sure about that dude?" A small orange clad turtle asked his brother.

"According to April, she's a female version of us and she just appeared out of nowhere."

"But bro how is this even possible. Unless she's a science experiment gone wrong just like some of the others." Raphael told the leader.

"It's not entirely unlikely Raphael. Remember when we travelled to that other turtle dimension a few weeks back? She could be from one of the turtleverses."

"Dude there's April. Stop here Donatello." The smaller Michelangelo told him while his brother stopped the vehicle on the side of the road.

"I'm glad to see you guys. She's fainted right on the sidewalk!" The red head told them with excitement in her voice.

"What should we do Leonardo?"

"Take her back to the lair and we'll see after that." The leader suggested.

Pushing their way trough the growing crowd of people, the four small turtles rushed towards her.

"It's true! She does look like us." Donatello called out in surprise when he noticed her.

"Alright folks ain't nothin' ta see here. We, the ninja turtles, will take care of 'er."

The people did as they where told by one of the creatures who had saved New York so many times.  
As they started to get back to their daily routine, April O'Neil aimed her travel sized camera at the teenage boys.

"Well boys do you know her?" She asked them.

"She doesn't look like any mutant female we know." Donatello answered as he carefully lifted her upper body from the cold stone.

"She's a lot taller then we are as well. Maybe you're right Donatello, maybe she is from another dimension." Leonardo continued as he lifted her feet.

"Another dimension!"

"Yeah like those four other turtles ya met a few weeks back." Raphael explained.

As the two turtles gently placed the girl inside their truck, Michelangelo picked up an ancient looking scroll from where Meipeichi just fainted.

"Dudes check this out!" He called out to his brothers while waving the parchment into the air.

"What is it?" The news reporter asked the youngest.

"An old piece of paper. Don't know what it saying though."

"Take it with ya Michelangelo. Maybe she knows." The red clad turtle said nodding towards the stranger.

Slowly she opened her eyes. They felt heavy and tired for some reason.  
With a loud moan the female turtle pushed herself up from something soft. She could no longer hear the sound of the street and whispering people around her.  
Instead the faint smell of wet fur and pizza filled the air along with the occasional dripping sound of water falling down.  
The sound she was all to familiar with.

"I'm…back?" She asked herself.

"Back where dudette?"

Lifting her gaze she instantly looked upon a smaller version of the orange clad turtle she knew so well.

"Aaaah!" She shortly yelled, freaked out by the new look the fun loving turtle had.

"Woah chill dudette. I'm not gonna hurt you." He assured her.

"Michelangelo? What happened to you?" Meipeichi dared to ask.

"You know me? 'Cause I've never seen you ever before."

"Aren't you Michelangelo? The youngest of the ninja turtles?"

Confusion was written all over her face. How could the orange clad turtle she knew now look so different and less like him self.

"That I am." He answered with a broad smile.

"What happened to you? What happened to me? Where am I!" The shinobi asked when she noticed the different surroundings.

"Again with tha questions. Listen doll if ya want answers ya better wait until Donatello and Leonardo come back."

It was then that she realized another, smaller, red clad turtle was looking at her with intense eyes.

"Why?"

Raphael growled softly.

"I don't see why we can't help her Raphael. She's like totally got memory loss or something."

"Nah I got a better idea. We bring 'er to Mona. Their both girls, she can help her and we can go out tha save April."

She blinked at hearing the familiar name. The boys, her older fellow mutants, always mentioned the human who they once saved from being attacked by the Foot. She always found it strange that she never met the famed April O'Neil.

"You sure bro?"

The older one nodded.

"Oh by the way dudette is this yours?" The orange clad turtle asked while he held up the ancient scroll.

"Yes it is." She admitted.

"Ya know what's it sayin'?" the other Raphael asked.

"Yes I do. It's a magic charm that can only be used by those who know the way of the shin obi."

"Charm? Like some magic voodoo thing?"

She blinked a couple of times.

"In a way." She answered.

"Trippy!" The youngest exclaimed.

The smaller Raphael smiled at the two.

"Let's get goin'. I don't know if our brothers need our help savin' April but it's best if we leave ya at Mona's doll."

The female frowned.

"My name is Ve….Meipeichi."

"Mei-what-know?" Michelangelo asked her.

"Meipeichi." She repeated.

A moment of silence fell as she noticed the confused looks on their faces.

She sighed once before standing up from the worn sofa, her legs still a bit wobbly.

"Please just call me Mei."

* * *

With a small smile on her face Mona Lisa stepped back to admire her work.

"Nothing helps me relax after such a horrible day like baking a masterpiece." She sighed as she admired the small chocolate cake resting on her kitchen counter.

"Perhaps if Raphael could taste my cooking, maybe, just maybe he won't cancel our dates anymore." She whispered to herself.

Just then her conscience decided to step in.

"Girl just listen to yourself. Why would you go after that guy when he stood you up for like the hundredth time." The high voice in her head told her.

"Just look at me. He's the only one I've got to make me happy and won't judge me for what I've become." Mona answered back.

"If he really loved you then he wouldn't have left you in the middle of the ocean."

She couldn't argue with what the voice had said to her. He did leave her just like that after Filch's sub exploded.  
She remembered how cold she was swimming back to New York in the middle of the night.

"Do you know what you should focus on Mona Lisa. Turning back into an human so that you can prove to your mother that you're still alive." The voice of reason continued.

"Being human again." She sighed.

At that moment someone knocked on her makeshift door.

"Yo Mona ya home?" the voice of Raphael asked.

"We need you're help dudette." Michelangelo added.

With a frown on her face and one hand on her hip she opened the door to find the two brothers smiling at her as well as an girl turtle clutching something that looked old, against her chest.  
Her eyes widened in surprise.

"We need tha help Leonardo and Donatello tha save April. Could ya take care of 'er for us."

"Yeah she just totally popped out of nowhere and we figured since your so smart and all that, that you might be able to help her."

The lizard girl blinked a couple of times and before she could answer, the two brothers already waved her goodbye and hurried to the surface.

"The nerve of those guys!" Mona growled.

"Euhm…my name is Meipeichi. It's very nice to meet you." The female turtle softly said while bowing towards the lizard girl.

"I'm Mona Lisa. Just call me Mona hun."

Mona gestured for the shinobi to follow her inside of the small living space.  
Meipeichi did so and closed the door, admiring her new surroundings.

"This place has such a….. nice feeling to it."

"Nice feeling?" Mona asked her as she filled a old, scarred cattle with water.

"Yes it feels like a home."

The brunette smiled.

"So Meipei….euhm…"

"Meipeichi, but please just call me Mei."

"So Mei, what's your story. You don't exactly look like the turtles and they don't seem to know you."

The turtle sighed.

"It's a long, confusing story. I'm not even sure what happened myself."

"You look tired dear, please sit down and rest. I'll make us some tea and you can tell me all about yourself and what happened."

She nodded as she placed the scroll on the wooden crates Mona used as a table and took a seat on the sofa.  
Turning around she looked at the female lizard preparing the tea, her tail playfully moved from left to right and her hair danced on her shoulders.  
Mei raised an brow and kept focusing on the silky hair that shimmered in the light of the lamps.

"You…you've got such pretty hair." Mei suddenly told her with a soft voice.

Mona Lisa turned around and smiled at her.

"That's nice of you to say. I've never been proud of it but when I became like this that changed. It's the only thing that left that reminds me of what I was."

"What do you mean?"

"I…I used to be human."

Her eyes widened and for a second she needed to gasp for air. Used to be human! Was that even possible?


	3. This is who we are

**Chapter three. :)  
Enjoy and sorry about any grammar errors.**

Disclaimer: I don't own TMNT, Mona Lisa or Venus (meipeichi)

**Taken for granted.**

**Chapter 3 - This is who we are.**

"Hu-human?" The female turtle stuttered.

"Yes hun. Human."

With shaking hands Meipeichi took the steaming cup of tea from the lizard girl.

"I've been like this for almost four years now." Mona explained as she positioned herself next to the confused girl.

"May I ask how you came to look like you do now?"

"Oh my already look at us already sharing origin stories." Mona chuckled.

A faint tint of pink crept their way onto Mei's cheeks.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean…"

"Relax Mei I don't mind tellin'."

"You don't?"

The lizard shook her head.

"No I don't mind. As a matter of fact, I've been dyin' to tell someone about this. Someone other then April or the guys I mean." She sighed.

"I understand. Besides Master Splinter and my brothers, I have nobody I can talk to as well."

A moment of silence fell as both young women sipped their tea.

"I was sixteen at the time you know, trying to make my way into the big world studying hard to get into college." She suddenly started.

"You where a student?"

Mona nodded as she continued her story.

"One day some of my friends decided to take me for a small fishing trip on the open sea and before I knew it I found myself kidnapped by Captain Filch."

"What about your friends?" Mei asked her.

"They escaped, the lucky bastards." The lizard girl mumbled with an unusual look on her face.

"When I became trapped in his submarine I somehow managed to do something to the nuclear energy source which made one big hole in the wall. I figured it would be the quickest way for Filch to come up to the surface so I could escape. But it kinda backfired." Mona Lisa continued.

The female turtle nodded in understanding knowing now how she turned into the being before her.

"I never knew how the newt DNA got mixed into all of this." Mona muttered as she turned her gaze up at the ceiling.

"How did you meet those turtles?"

Blinking the young girl turned towards her friend.

"I used Raphael to get entrance to an big cruise ship party. I knew Filch was trying to hijack it with some bizarre creatures he made after he realised what the nuclear power source did to me. I did everything to try and stop that good for nothing excuse of an man."

"I suppose you and Raphael must be very close friends."

"Why would ya think that sweety?"

"Because you where the first one he thought of to bring me to."

Mona Lisa snickered behind her teacup.

"Nothing is further from the truth Mei. At first I always admired the work the Ninja Turtles did. Saving mankind and all that. But firstly Raphael and his brothers left me floating in the cold sea after I destroyed the submarine. They didn't even came looking for me."

The eyes of the eastern girl widened in surprise. The boys seemed like such nice turtles and looked nothing like her brothers who didn't see her as a part of the team.

"To make things worse I swam back to NewYork, met April who was waiting for the turtles at the docks and she showed me the lair. So I thought lets surprise the boys with pizza to thank them for helping me."

"They…they don't like pizza?" Mei asked her.

The lizard girl shook her head.

"They did but Raphael became all cute and kind and I fell even more in love with him then when I first met him. After that he kept cancelling our dates and after four years I can still count the times we went out with one finger."

A look of pity appeared on the face of the light blue clad turtle.

"I'm sure there's a good reason."

The lizard girl huffed and took another sip of her tea.

"Saving April, saving the world, April, the world, the world and April. It's all they ever do."

Again the turtle nodded in understanding.

"How about you hun? I've never seen a girl turtle before and how do you know the guys?"

"Oh my story isn't such an exiting one as yours."

"I don't mind."

Mei sighed.

"Alright then. I suppose it all started with the mutation of myself when I was just a baby turtle. I remember being carried away in something that showed my own face and then the earth started to pull at me."

"Then the ooze right?" Mona guessed.

"Yes."

"Just like the guys then?"

"They are my brothers but somehow I got separated from them and my father and master Chung-I found me near China Town. He took me in and brought me to his homeland China where he began teaching me the ways of the shinobi."

"Wait, wait. Shin-obi? That's the same as ninja right?"

"Yes."

"But Ninjitsu is something from Japan so how could your master know the ways of the ninja?"

Meipeichi smiled at her.

"You are the first to ask this Mona. It is true that the ways of the shinobi originated in Japan, but my great-grandfather, Chung-I's grandfather, was Japanese and a true master of Ninjitsu. He married a women from China and thought his children and a few grandchildren this form of fighting."

"Still then your master would have had a Japanese name."

"That would have been so if my great-grandfather was not cursed with a wife who could only bear daughters."

Mona laughed.

"One night my father was killed by the dragon lord who was trying to break free from his prison. He managed to do so a couple of days later when I travelled to New York in search of Master Splinter and my brothers like my late father requested. It was there that I helped the turtles save their master from the Spirit realm."

"That's some story Mei. I never knew the guys would have a sister. Wait what where they talking about then, that you popped up out of nowhere?"

Another faint blush crept on the cheeks of the Shinobi.

"Well I've been living with my turtle brothers for nearly four years now and lately they have been…shutting me out or their group. Making me do their choirs, thinking less of me, treating me like…rubbish."

Mona giggled which earned her an confusing look from the female turtle.

"I think you mean garbage dear."

"Yes that to. So last night Master Splinter suggested it would be better if I moved back to China. I objected because I did not wish to leave my family behind but seeing it from his side I could understand. They changed me over the last couple of months, I became annoyed and easily angered."

The lizard girl raised a brow the girl spoke to her in a soft, soothing voice. Mona couldn't imagine how this girl would shout in anger.

"Then when I started to pack my belongings, I found a scroll with a spell I did not learn yet. I simply whispered the words like I always did to master a new spell but then this bright light flashed before me and I found myself on the surface."

After telling this both girls eyed the dusty paper scroll resting on the make-shift coffee table.

"So…are you a sister to these ninja turtles?" She carefully asked.

Meipeichi shook her head.

"I've never seen them before….I'm lost." She admitted.

Before the female turtle could do anything, she found herself in the embrace of the lizard girl.

"Poor girl." Mona whispered.

"The scroll must have taken me to another world." Mei whispered back.

"It's not unlikely."

As the girls released their grip on each other the brunette smiled at the confused looking girl before her.

"I talk to Donatello on occasion you know. We're both nerds after all." She told her while giving her a friendly wink.

"Really?" Mei giggled.

"They happen to come across another "turtleverse" as they called it some weeks back. Another world parallel to yours and mine at least that's how Donatello described it."

"I…I think I understand. So my scroll could have been a ticket to other worlds?"

Mona raised her shoulders as she took the now empty cup of tea from the turtle girl.

"Don't know hun. I'm no expert in magic."

"Well mostly the spells only work with the right hand gestures. But I didn't even do those when I said the words…."

"Maybe it's not one of your typical magic spells like those who turn princes into frogs."

Mei laughed at her comment.

"It's nice though that you can escape from your live." Mona sighed as she placed the cups in the kitchen sink.

"Don't you have any family left? I'm sure they will accept you Mona, those humans on the surface accepted the turtles so why not you?"

"My parents think I'm dead and gone and I don't blame them. I mean look at me. Who would want to have me as a daughter."

"I think you are very beautiful Mona. This Raphael is just too stupid to see that."

A single tear rolled down from her cheek as Mona smiled again at the turtle girl.

"Thank you Mei. I needed to hear that."

Walking towards the sad young girl, Meipeichi gently took her hands and smiled back at her.

**It looks like Mona and Venus already made friends. :)  
In the next chapter the girls decide to use the scroll for another trip around the turtleverse!**


	4. This is our promise

**Chapter four. I hope you'll like it**

Disclaimer: I don't own TMNT or anything related to that.

And once again I'm sorry if there are any grammar errors in this. English isn't my first language.

Taken for granted

**Chapter 4: This is our promise.**

Leonardo Hamato was pacing back and forth for the past two hours every ten minutes or so he would glance at the compartment which belonged to Venus.  
He wondered if she would really be gone the next day?  
The blue clad turtle noticed how her shadow moved around her small room. Picking up things and sometimes standing still to admire one of her scrolls.

"Does something trouble you my son?" The voice of master Splinter suddenly asked.

"Yes master. I'm concerned about Venus. Is she really going to leave us?"

"It seems so and it would be the best for her and all of us is she returned home."

"Why is that master?"

The old rat frowned at his eldest son.

"You haven't noticed she has changed since she moved in with us. Meipeichi used to be a shy delicate flower and now she has turned into an angry spirit because of the way you and your brothers treat her."

"What! No we never mistreated her!"

Master Splinter raised his hand to silence the turtle.

"Do you remember the last time she was allowed to aid you and your brothers on the surface?"

"No I don't master." Leonardo admitted.

"If you can't remember then it has been to long my son and that is one of the reasons why Meipeichi feels left out and changed into an angry spirit."

"What are the other reasons master?"

"You should not let her clean up 'your' junk in the lair. Everyone is responsible for keeping the house clean and not just the only female here."

The leader bowed down his head in shame.

"I…I should go and apologize right?"

"Firstly you must tell this to your brothers as well. But not right now Leonardo, it is almost morning and you should get some rest my son."

Suddenly a bright flash emerged from Venus's compartment.  
Leonardo tried to shield his eyes from the bright light only to see big spots dancing in front of his eyes when the light vanished.

"Venus!" He yelled racing towards her door.

When he slid it open the female turtle was no longer there. Only empty shelves a small mirror and the trunk in which several scrolls where stored.

"Master! She's gone!"

* * *

"So…." Mona lisa started.

"So?" the female turtle asked.

Mona shifted uncomfortably on the worn sofa.

"Do you think that thing can carry two people?" The lizard girl continued.

Meipeichi raised her shoulders.

"I don't know. I'm not even sure why the spell worked in the first place."

"Didn't it come with an user manual?"

The female turtle blinked a couple of times.

"I don't think so…but it sure would have been useful."

Mona sighed.

"But why would you want to know if….Wait! You don't want us both to go to another dimension would you?!"

The female lizard looked at her and raised a brow.

"That's the plan hun. You don't wanna stay here do you?"

"I don't know. The turtles here are much nicer then my brothers from my dimension."

"They'll neglect you darlin'. The only woman that's on their minds is April 'yes that's my real hair colour' O'Neil."

"Why?" Mei asked.

Mona raised her shoulders.

"I don't know why. They just like her more then all the other female mutants and what not they rescued. I'm sure nobody will miss us in this world."

"Perhaps your right."

"You know stepping to the dark side sounds more fun then staying here. From what I've heard of the Shredder lately he gets to keep busy every day working out weak plans to destroy the turtles. It sure beats hanging around here all the time waiting for mister 'not so cool' Raphael to show up."

The other girl giggled.

"There is something I've been wondering though."

"Yes Mona?"

"If the turtles in my world are jerks and in your world even bigger ones…then are all the turtles the same?"

"You mean complete idiots?"

Mona nodded.

"I don't know but they are men so it's most likely."

The lizard girl suddenly threw her arms around the unsuspecting shinobi and laughed as hard as she could.

"Oh Mei you made me feel so much better thank you." She muttered after her laughing subsided.

"You know we should swear off those turtle boys. Just look at what a wreck they have made of us." She continued as she let go of the startled turtle.

"I agree. No more teenage mutant ninja turtle men or boys."

"Then it's settled! No matter how hard they'll try, we won't fall for them because we won't forget what they're counterparts did to us! I won't have my heart broken again!" The lizard girl said while raising a fist in the air.

"And I won't let myself be pushed around by them anymore!" Mei smiled.

Both girls grinned as they shook each others hand.

"Now that's settled….can I come with you when you leave?"

The light-blue clad turtle nodded.

"I don't know if it's possible, but I'll try to activate the scroll again. Perhaps if you held onto me as well as the spell it would increase the chance of us both ending in the same world."

"Great! Let's get going. How do you activate that scroll of yours?" Mona asked while jumping up.

Meipeichi brought a finger to her chin, trying to remember the ritual she preformed before seeing the flash.

"I…I whispered the words on the scroll…which is odd because usually it would only work combined with hand gestures."

"I'm ready when you are hun."

Again Meipeichi nodded as she picked up the Chinese scroll.

* * *

"No way Leo! I ain't teamin' up with him!" The angry voice of Raphael echoed trough the late evening air of New York.

"He's your brother Raph."

"I ain't teamin' up with Mikey fearless. I may as well give up before we're startin' this ninjatag round."

"Aww Raph I'm not that bad. Remember I'm the BATTLE NEXUS AU!"

The sound of something wooden hit Michelangelo on his head with a soft thud.

"DONNIE! Leo, Donnie hit me."

"You're lucky Mikey or else I would have hit you." The leader replied.

"Could you stop bragging about that. You won't be so lucky next time little brother." Donatello told him with an all knowing grin.

"How 'bout we just call it a night guys. The foot have been outta town since little miss Shredder came to her senses."

"Yeah let's head home bro's. Play videogames, watch some movies you know normal teenager stuff." The youngest suggested jumping up and down with excitement.

"Ain't ya gettin' a little old for that."

"Like when do we ever get the change to do something fun dude and no Leo ninjatag doesn't count as fun! That's another word for training."

The blue clad turtle raised his hands up in defence with a small smile on his face.

"Well I have been wanting to work on that special project to upgrade the sewersledge. LH has some idea's I'm just dying to try out on that baby."

"Fine, fine you two go home and we'll call it a night. What about you Raph?"

"I ain't plannin' a roughhouse night with Case if that's what yer after fearless."

"That's not what I'm asking. I want to know where you'll be tonight on the rooftops or in the sewers?"

"Rooftops." Raph muttered.

"Well I'm of. I'll bet you'll be paying Karai a visit eh Leo." Donnie asked his older brother.

"What…euhm…yeah I could do that." A small blush crept on his cheeks.

"Donnie-boy wait up!" Michelangelo called out to him before following his brother down.

"Don't be embraced Leo. Where all eighteen now…and we know ya like Karai in that way…. And we ain't stoppin' ya bro as long as she ain't breakin' yer heart or yer shell."

"Having a crush on someone sure feels different when you're older doesn't it."

"Don't know never had one." The red clad turtle admitted.

"Oh come on Raph. Don't tell me you didn't have the hots for April?"

"Ya got me mixed up bro. That's Donnie and I think he still loves 'er." Raphael chuckled.

A moment of silence fell and the sounds of the rushing city beneath him filled their ears. The sound of a siren racing closer towards them, laughing young women crossing the street.

"I'll be going now Raph. Be save okay?"

"I'll try bro."

* * *

With a loud splash Meipeichi landed in cold water. Almost instantly the stench of the sewers filled her nose and darkness surrounded her.

"Still in New York." She whispered knowing the scent all to well.

"Mona you okay?" she asked.

Nobody answered.

"Mona Lisa?"

* * *

"Yuck, gross, gross, gross." Mona muttered as she lifted herself from an open garbage container.

She blinked a couple of times trying to adjust her eyes to the darkness of the night as well as hoping the spot in front of her would stop dancing.

"Ya know Mei you could have warned me about that flash!"

The female lizard looked around when she heard no reply.

"Mei!"

**Oh my. Looks like the girls are seperated.**


	5. This is what I am

**Thank you everyone who has left a review last time!  
I know I haven't been updating very fast, but that is because, aside from some other stories I've written, this one wasn't done in advance. Also I've got another two-hundred-something pages to translate from my other fanfic the brotherhood of heroes. I euhm...better get back to that before it's covered to much in dust. So please enjoy this next chapter!  
****  
Sorry about my English it's not my first language and now on with the disclaimer.  
**

Disclaimer: I don't own TMNT, Mona lisa and Venus thank you very much and please enjoy. :)

**Taken for granted.**

**Chapter four: This is what I am.**

Over time Raphael Hamato learned that there are certain things in the world that just happened to him and his brothers. Weird things like going into outer space, being a gladiator on some alien planet and even seeing your greatest enemy come back from the death over and over again. Then again Raphael was not something you would describe as normal and he was certain that his far from normal live would only stop when death would beside him to take him away.  
The red clad turtle was a little surprised however, to see a bright flash coming from a deserted ally when he decided to patrol the city alone.

"That better ain't you Hun." He growled as he took out one of his sais.

With graceful moves, the turtle made his way to one of the rooftops beside the ally. To his surprise he noticed that there was just one small, slender figure standing amongst the discarded rubble and piles of trash. In the dim light of the moon it was hard to see if the figure was really one of the purple dragons.

"So it ain't Hun lightin' those fireworks?"

He watched as the shadow slowly moved about before racing towards an large dumpster. As the figure seemed to look for something, Raphael slowly made his way down to the dark ally.

"He sure is actin' strange. He could be a purple dragon…but why would he be out here all alone?" Raphael wondered.

Just then the red clad turtle decided that this was not a time for thinking but a time for action. If this person really was one of the purple dragons then he'd punch the guy until he told him everything about the flash. If he wasn't, then he would have been tackling a homeless bum before making his way back to the rooftops again and who in his right mind would believe the story of a crazy homeless human.

With great speed he tackled the guy that was still searching trough the dumpster. A loud high pitched yelp escaped the body Raphael pressed against one of the brick walls.  
In the dim light of the only small lantern lighting the ally, just when the red clad turtle was ready to pierce his sai trough the shoulder of the suspecting dragon, his angry face fell as he noticed what he was pressing against the wall.  
The slender figure of a young woman was struggling under his grip. Slowly he let go of her fragile neck as she did the same to his arm. This young woman didn't look like a human and as she coughed and gasped for air, he noticed her green skin shimmering in the dim light and her long lizard like tail moving back and forth.

"Sorry." Raphael muttered.

"You…*cough*… better be." She answered him with a frowning face.

"I thought ya where one of those purple dragon goons." He explained.

"Do I look like a purple dragon to you!" She yelled at him with a stern voice.

"Nah ya look way too cute to be one." He answered.

A warm feeling rose up to his cheeks when he realised what he said and the way the girl looked at him.

"Besides ya don't have one of their tat's on ya. Sorry I didn't notice it sooner, I didn't mean tha attack ya like that."

"Then why did ya?" She asked him, her face still frowning as she looked at him.

"Well the flash ya see…ya did see that flash just now didn't ya?"

The lizard girl nodded, her brown hair dancing along with her movements.

"I thought Hun and his men where testin' somethin' to…ya know put our kind six feet under. So when I saw ya snoopin' around like that…"

"You thought I was this Hun person?"

Raphael laughed.

"Nah more like one of his henchmen. If ya seen Hun once ya know why ya can never mistake another guy for him."

A moment of awkward silence fell as he watched her shift her weight uneasily.

"Are ya hungry?" He suddenly asked her.

She looked up with a surprised expression on her face.

"Why do you ask?"

"Ya where lookin' trough tha dumpster. I figured since us mutants can't go foodshoppin' ya used to findin' yer dinner in tha trash right?"

She looked away from him as she hugged her upper body with her arms.

"Yeah I used to do that but I was actually looking for something and someone."

He blinked a couple of times.

"Can I help? I Like to make it up to ya…ya know for attackin' ya like that."

"I'll be fine without your help." She told him as the mutant girl walked away from him.

"Hey! I told ya I was sorry!" Raphael yelled at her while grabbing her arm.

She looked at him with fierce eyes as she asked the turtle to let her go.  
A bit startled by the harshness in her voice he released his grip on her wrist.

"Hey how 'bout I take ya to my friends house. There ya can wait until me and my bro's find whoever it is yer lookin' for." He suggested.

She shot him another angry look.

"I'll be fine on my own. I don't need help from someone who just tried to kill me."

"Fine! Be a stubborn bitch and get killed by some lowlife goon! Sorry that I was tryin' to look after ya!"

"For the last time I don't need help and I don't need you looking after me! Why-don't-you-get-that!" She yelled at him pocking her green finger against his plastron.

Raphael growled again before turning away from the mutant girl.

"Suit yerself." She could hear him mutter before jumping back onto the roof.

* * *

A little dizzy, Mei managed to stand and lean against the damp wall of the sewer.  
Her friend was nowhere to be found and to make matters worse, during her arrival she found out she no longer had the magic scroll in her hands.  
Slowly the female turtle walked around until she found herself standing at an intersection. The murky water danced around her feet as she stood there staring at the three tunnels ahead of her.

"Which way to go?" She asked herself.

For a while she just stood there, listening the water drip from above. Wondering if Mona was alright, wondering if the spell actually worked and they both ended up in this world, wondering what the heck made that loud splashing sound.

"Perhaps it's one of the turtles if they have them in this world." She once again whispered to herself as she kept looking at the tunnel from which the sound came.

To her surprise a large shadow stepped out of the tunnel. Much bigger then her and definitely not turtle-like.  
Meipeichi let out a small scream when she noticed a large alligator stomping towards her, his large white teeth shimmering in the little light.

"Please d-don't eat m-me." She begged as the creature slowly made his way towards her.

The female turtle backed up as fast as she could only to feel the floor sliding from underneath her at some point as she once again fell into the water and she felt something hard hit her head.  
In the darkness she could hear two voices softly speaking.

"Is she going to be alright?"

"Yes I believe so. The impact was hard enough to knock her out but other then the wound there will be further injury I hope."

A soft sigh of relieve.

"Still…is she one of us?"

"Most likely."

A loud moan escaped her lips as she slowly slipped from the darkness.

The first thing she saw was a very high, round ceiling and the smell of fresh coffee filled her noise along with that of antiseptic and a heavy pounding in her head.

"Hey…how are you feeling?" one of the voices asked her.

She closed her eyes and tried to remember what happened.

"Don't feel so good…" She finally managed to whisper.

"Do you know what happened?" the voice asked again.

"Big monster…slipped…auw."

The voice let out a faint chuckle.

"Here let me help you get up."

A pair of soft, strong arms pulled her into a sitting position. With calm eyes she looked at the one helping her up.  
His olive-green skin was mostly covered by a large, once white, lab coat. A pair of funny looking goggles rested on his head and a purple bandana was the one thing that stood up the most.

"My name's Donatello, but please just cal me Donnie." He introduced.

Suddenly a small wave of nausea came over her before the female could reply. By instinct she brought her head between her knees and noticed two things at that time. The first was that she was sitting on an old hospital bed, the second one was that she missed the weight of her braid as it would usually found it's way over her shoulder by now.  
An comforting hand slowly rubbed circles on her shell as Mei tried to breath deeply.

"Where's my bandana?" She asked in an whisper.

"When you slipped you hit your head against a discarded brick from one of the walls. It caused a slight wound below your headgear. So the only thing for us to do was to remove it. Unfortunately….." The other voice suddenly explained as she felt his presence coming towards her followed by something icy cold being placed on her head.

"We…euhm…had to cut your bandana. We tried to undo your braid but…no such luck. I promise I'll get you a new one really." Donatello promised her.

Mei let out a soft giggle as she felt tears stinging in her eyes.

"Let's get you back down and then you can tell us how you came to be." The other voice told her.

With much effort she looked up at the voice. Her bright brown eyes widened when she noticed the same big monster from before standing in front of her.  
Frightened she backed up as much as she could.

"No wait! There is no need to be scared. LH isn't going to harm you." Donnie assured her.

"I'm sorry if my…appearance has startled you miss."

"No…I am sorry for…judging you so quickly….it's just that I wasn't sure if you where friend or foe." She explained.

"My name is Leatherhead."

"Nice to meet you Leatherhead and you as well Donatello." She said turning her gaze to the male turtle, pretending she never heard his name before.

"You've got an Eastern accent." The purple clad turtle noticed while he looked at her with a small smile on his face.

"Yes, I've spend most of my life in China. My name is Meipeichi."

"So what are you doing here in NewYork then?"

"I'm looking for my friend. She's a mutant lizard, have you seen her?"

* * *

Throwing out the last cardboard box in the dumpster, Mona Lisa once again looked around. This ally wasn't like those in her world, this one smelled filthy and was not even suited for the lowest of the low to live in. Still here she was, in the middle of an alternate New York she wasn't familiar with, looking for an scroll she didn't know if it was around and a friend she didn't know if she was still here.  
To top things of the Raphael of this world was the first to find her, tried to kill her then being all sweet and willing to help her.

"I don't need help from him. I'll bet he's just like that other Raphael….once he helps me or saves my live he'll forget about me and I'll be stuck waitin' for him every Friday night." She muttered to herself.

"What other Raphael?" An familiar voice asked her.

Mona spun around to stand face to face with the red clad turtle again.

"You….You didn't leave?"

"I did…then I noticed how Hun's goons where plannin' something a couple of blocks back. They said somethin' about how they're satellites picked up that flash we saw. They're comin' to investigate in a couple of minutes. Thought I might warn ya." He told her, still with a hint of anger in his deep voice.

"Are they really that dangerous?"

"If they come here it'll be twenty against us two. Of course I'll manage to fight them off but I don't know if I can cover yer back."

"Hey I said I don't…." Mona started.

Raph held his hands up in defeat.

"I know I know. Ya don't want any help from me. That's all fine and dandy but I just came to warn ya that if they're comin' here soon and it might be better if you just split and wait until they're finished with whatever it is they wanna do and leave those goons up to me."

"I can fight!"

"I'm sure ya can but I don't wanna see ya gettin' hurt."

"Why? You don't even know me?" Mona demanded to know.

" 'Cause yer a mutant like me and us mutants gotta stick together. Right?"

"Awww someone get me a hanky. I think I'm about tha cry." A new hoarse voice suddenly said.

The two mutants turned around to see a small group of men and teenagers blocking the way out of the ally. Most of them where armed and all of them where wearing tattoo's or shirts with a large purple dragon.

"Purple dragons." Raphael hissed as he pulled out one of his sai's.

"I'll bet they know what that flash was Dragonface." One of the goons suggested as he dangerously twirled his baseball bat around.

"We'll just have that hit it outta them." The leader, probably the one called Dragonface, told the other goon.

"Go and find somewhere save."

"No way turtle. I can fight fine on my own." The lizard girl said before pulling the other sai from Raphael's belt.

* * *

Thank you for reading this chapter!

mogwai1988


	6. This is who they are

**Chapter six of taken for granted.  
Disclaimer: Don't own too bad, don't own so sad. I don't own TMNT, Mona Lisa or Venus thank you.**

Taken for granted.

**Chapter six : This is who they are.**

With trembling hands the female turtle held onto a chipped cup with steaming tea. Her head was still pounding like crazy and she found it hard to recollect her thoughts.

"Here's some aspirin." Donatello offered.

With a confused look on her face she turned towards the purple clad turtle.

"It's for your head. I'm sure it's hurting like shell right now. LH told me you came down pretty hard." He explained with a small smile.

Gratefully she took the small white pills from his hand.

"Thank you." She whispered.

"So where have you last seen that friend of yours?" He suddenly asked.

As Mei swallowed down the medicine she watched how Donnie placed himself next to her on the old hospital bed.

"I…I can't remember." She lied.

"Did something happen miss?" the large reptile asked.

She frowned not sure what to tell the two boys.

"Where you two attacked at some point?"

"I'm…I'm not sure."

"Perhaps the fall made you forget what happened." Leatherhead mumbled.

"It's alright I'm sure we'll find your friend M…Meipay…"

Softly the girl giggled when she noticed the other turtle struggling with her name.

"Mei will do." She softly said.

"We'll find her…Mei." He assured her as he carefully put his hand on her arm.

"My friend perhaps it is best if she's under the care of your master."

"I remember Mikey had a head injury more then once in the past. Father always knew what to do." Donatello mumbled.

"After you remember what happened and are fully recovered miss, we can locate your friend." The large alligator told her.

"I am very grateful for your help. Both of you thank you." She said slightly bowing.

The purple clad turtle let himself slide from the bed and he offered her his hand.

"Come on Mei, I'll take you to the lair." He softly said.

"The…lair?" She asked still pretending not to know.

"My home. My father, Master Splinter, can help me take care of your injury. He has this amazing skill for making herbal medicine. It helped my younger brother more then once." He assured her.

"Besides that miss. This hospital bed is quite old and I'm not sure if it can handle a few days recovery period anymore." LH told her.

She nodded as the female turtle took his hand and let herself slide from the hospital bed. The moment her feet touched the ground, another wave of nausea and dizziness hit her. She felt her knees gave out from under her and she soon found herself sitting on the floor, breathing heavily once again.  
The soothing circling motion Donatello made earlier, returned.

"Feeling better?" He gently asked.

She nodded a bit without looking at him and the soothing motion stopped.

"Maybe it's better if I carry you."

"No…I'm fine." She assured him as she raised her hand.

Her mind wandered to the promise she made with Mona before their departure.  
The promise of being an independent mutant without relying on her brothers or even their counterparts.

"You're in no condition to walk." Donnie protested while he kneeled beside her.

"You should let him carry you to the lair. It's only a short walk from here and I'll come by this evening to check your wound." Leatherhead told her with a small smile.

Mei nodded and noticed that she didn't have a choice right now but let the turtle help her.

* * *

With swift swings with Raphael's sai, Mona Lisa managed to at least draw a little blood from a couple of purple dragons.  
Strong kicks where enough to make then tumble backwards and let the male turtle finish them off.  
It wasn't long until the group retreated and the red clad turtle watched them with a smug grin on his face.

"Ya better run!" He yelled after them.

Out of breath Mona leaned against the nearby wall, near the small light that showed small cuts on her face. She hissed as she leaned on her right leg.

"Hey we make a pretty good team don't ya think?" Raph asked with a wide grin as he walked towards her.

He held out his hand, asking in his way for her to give his weapon back.

She did just that and frowned at him while holding her leg.

"Shell yer hurt!" He noticed when he looked at the blood shimmering on her green skin.

"It's nothing. It doesn't bother me." She lied.

"Bullshit!" He yelled at her.

The next thing he did came totally unexpected for Mona Lisa.  
Raphael reached towards the back of his head and undid the knot of his red bandana.

"Hold onto my shell." He said in a low growl as he crouched down.

As she leaned onto him, she felt the soft, red fabric being wrapped around her leg.

"Ain't too tight?" He asked.

"No." She replied. "Thanks." She softly whispered after that.

"We need tha give that leg of yours a proper bandage. Ya got somewhere ya can get that?"

Mona shook her head.

"Right. Ya know before ya start yellin' at me again for tryin' tha help ya out here I'm gonna ask this very nicely. Do ya want me tha take ya to someone who can help ya?"

"Sure."

"Now don't go hittin' me or somethin'. I'm just gonna pick ya up and carry ya okay."

Mona giggled while nodding as she carefully wrapped her arms around the turtles neck when he lifted her of the ground.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell. It's just after what I found out today I'm happy but also sad. I guess I can't handle both at the same time." She explained.

"So ya start yellin' at people who apologize for attackin' ya and try tha help ya after that?" He asked still wearing his grin.

"Guess so."

Raphael used the fire escape to make his way up to the roof. In the light of the moon, the girl noticed two piercing golden eyes looking at her.

"What's yer name?" He asked suddenly.

"Mona Lisa." She answered in a whisper.

"I'm Raphael. Call me Raph everyone I know does."

She nodded.

"So what did happen to ya? Ya know that makes ya happy and sad at the same time?"

She frowned.

"I don't see that being any of your business." She replied.

"Yer takin' it out on me doll. It is my business."

"I've realized today that I've been in love with someone who doesn't care about me and at the same time I made a new friend who's…who's the same and gets me. We got separated somehow…I can't remember very well…that's why I'm looking for her."

"Ya hit yer head before I found ya?"

"Can't remember." She answered before leaning her head against his shoulder.

She felt how he moved again.  
As Mei kept looking into the calm, brown eyes of Donatello, she kept wondering why he was so different then the one from her world.  
Her brother always ignored her, because she was one that practiced magic and he was a man of science.  
In the beginning they would never stop to annoy each other to prove which one was better until her brother suddenly started to ignore her.

This purple clad turtle was nothing like that. He was kind, sweet and carrying towards her and he did not even know if she was friend of foe.  
It pained her to lie to those carrying eyes.

"Are you alright Mei?" Donnie asked while he carried her trough the sewers.

"I'm alright."

"You're not feeling sick are you?" he asked with a hint of worry in his voice.

"No not yet." She replied with a small smile.

"So Mei tell me a little bit about yourself. What do you like to do, where do you live?" He asked trying to keep her talking.

"I am a Shinobi."

"So am I. So what's you're specialty?"

"Magic." She replied in a whisper.

"Really? I've done some ninjitsu magic once but I had some help from an amulet and a special weapon made from a dragon's fang to do it. But it sure wasn't easy let me tell you that." He grinned remembering his time with the tribunal.

Mei smiled and inside her heart stung a bit.

"You're not the same as him." She suddenly said.

"The same as who?"

"The other you."

The purple clad turtle stopped in his tracks when he noticed how the girl in his arms started to close her eyes.

"Other me?"

"I can't lie to you anymore Donnie…you're too sweet." She whispered before she once again returned into a light slumber.

* * *

"Yo April, Casey!" Raph yelled when he stepped trough an open window.

For once he was grateful that the redhead never locked her windows at night.

"In here Raph!" the sound of a male voice called out from one of the rooms.

"Got an emergency here! Where's ya first aid kit?"

Carefully he put down Mona on a butter-yellow sofa before making his way towards a room that looked like it could be a kitchen.  
A moment later the red clad turtle returned with a small white box in his hands followed by a large muscular human with long black hair and a red haired young woman.  
As the turtle started to approach her his jaw slightly dropped and he found himself unable to move.

"Give me that Raph. Gawking at her doesn't count as helping."

"I ain't gawkin'!" He defended himself.

"April's right buddy." The large man added with a grin as he slapped the turtle on his shoulder.

"Don't mind them. I'm April Jones." The woman introduced while holding out a hand.

"Mona Lisa."

"So Mona how do you know Raph?" She asked as she untied the blood soaked bandana from her leg.

"We just met actually. He attacked me, then tried to help me, then came back to warn me and the next thing I know we were fighting a couple of goons. Nothing special really."

"Yo Raph come help me in the kitchen. We can make some drinks for tha dames."

"That's very nice of you Casey." April told the man with a smile.

Literary pushing the male turtle out of the living room the human woman turned her attention back to the injured leg of the mutant girl.

"Isn't your name O'Neil?" Mona Lisa suddenly asked.

"It used to be. But I married Casey last year so now it's April Jones." She told her with a smile. "Have you heard of me?" She then asked.

A nervous smile appeared on her lips.

"Who hasn't. April O'Neil ace reporter right?"

The red head cocked an eyebrow.

"I've never been a reporter. I used to work at a lab and I'm now running my dad's old antique shop." She explained.

"Really?"

April nodded as she finished up the bandages.

"This makes me curious a bit Mona, because the guys have been to another turtle universe, and they told me that there was a counterpart of mine working as a news reporter there."

"Guess I'm busted huh?" She shyly asked.

"You're not from here?" the human asked.

Mona Lisa shook her head.

* * *

"Man Raph that's something ya brought back here!" Casey teased.

"I noticed she was pretty but I wasn't expectin' anythin' like that." He told his friend gesturing towards the living room.

"Ya like her don't ya."

Raphael growled.

"She's a stubborn broad I'll tell ya that. But she's also confused I think."

"Ya should take her out bro."

Raphael chuckled.

"In case ya ain't noticed yet knuclehead. We ain't really fittin' in with the crowd. I can't just take her on a date."

"Aaah but ya wanna take 'er on a date right?"

"Shut up Casey!" The reptile yelled blushing furiously.

* * *

"Mei?" A soft voice called out.

The girl softly moaned.

"She waking up bro?" Another voice asked.

"Mikey get some water for her would you."

"Sure thing." The other voice replied.

"Are you alright Mei?" Donatello's voice asked when he noticed her eyes slowly opening.

"I'm…not feeling so well…" She managed to say.

"Just stay down. We'll take care of you."

The last thing she felt was his hand gently squeezing hers as she closed her eyes and let sleep take over.

"You can trust him." A familiar voice in her head whispered to her.

**Thank you all who is still reading this and sorry for any grammar errors. English isn't my first language.**


	7. This is not how we look

**Alright so in this chapter is the one where Raph tries to flirt with Mona and cheers her up at the same time. Also the girls discover that the spell changed them. O_o  
And once again sorry for any grammar errors.**

**Disclaimer: I dont own TMNT, Mona lisa and Venus.**

**Taken for Granted.**

**This is not how we look.**

"This should do it." April Jones told her guest as she gently patted the fresh bandage.

"Thank you." Mona whispered as she nervously watched the young woman threat her wound.

"So where are you from?"

"One of those turtle dimensions. One that your counterpart works in as an reporter." She answered in a whisper looking towards the kitchen.

"Really? How did you get here?" The red haired human asked while taking a seat next to Mona.

"An ancient magic spell I think."

A moment of silence fell and April noticed the lizard girl nervously watching the kitchen.

"Have you told him?"

Startled by this sudden question, her eyes went wide for a few seconds before she lowered her head down.

"No. I don't think he should know. We've just met and when I'll find my friend I'm sure we'll be on our way out of this world soon. So I don't think he should know seeing as we probably would only stay here a day or two." Mona explained.

"He's already starting to like you, you know."

"How can you tell?"

Again the red head cocked an eyebrow.

"Like every mutant guy you know gawks at you like that." April replied.

Mona Lisa placed a finger on her lips and tried to remember the time when she first met the Raphael from her world. She did notice a faint glimmer in his eyes and he did tell her she was beautiful, but he never gawked at her like she was something he never seen before. This Raphael did and the look on his face was not the reaction she expected at all.

"I don't know why he did that." Mona confessed.

"Ladies, tha refreshments are served." Casey Jones announced as he walked out of the kitchen with two steaming cups.

"I hope ya like tea Mona. Except fer beer, it's all we've got right now."

Before the lizard girl could reply, April took the hand of her husband the moment he put down the tea on the small coffee table.

"Casey, I think Mona needs one of your warm sweaters before she gets a cold, don't you think?"

With a dumbstruck look on his face the large man shifted his look to Mona before looking at his turtle friend that just walked out of the kitchen. It took a few moments before he understood what his wife was aiming at.

"Yeah. It's been gettin' colder outside since it's beginnin' tha be winter and all."

His wife nodded with a smile.

"Would you help me look for one of your old sweaters dear. I'm sure…"

"No please April I'm fine really." The lizard girl pitched in.

"Ya wanna freeze out there?" Raph asked a can of beer in his hands.

As the married couple walked out of the living room, the female mutant looked down at what she was wearing.  
The simple belt and her favourite pink scarf was all she ever wore on normal days. She did own the one white dress she was wearing before the red clad turtle from her world cancelled her date. But that was all.

Suddenly realisation hit her.

"Where you gawking at me, because I'm hardly wearing any clothes?" She accused him, pointing a finger at Raph.

The red clad turtle chuckled before taking a seat next to her. With a soft hissing sound he opened his beer.

"For tha record Mona. My jaw dropped 'cause….'cause I ain't never seen anyone like you before." He confessed with a small blush on his cheeks.

"Someone like me?" She demanded to know, a frown on her face.

"Yeah. I never seen a girl who's pretty like ya are."

Not satisfied with his answer, she kept frowning at him, with a blush on her face mixed with a look of annoyance, trying to pry something out of him. After a short while her method was successful.

"Sheesh woman stop starring at me like that!" the turtle demanded.

"I don't believe you're draw drops at the sight of a pretty girl." She explained.

"Alright, alright. Shell ya're persisted." He sighed before taking a sip of his beer.

"I didn't noticed it before ya know. 'Cause it's been gettin' dark pretty early now and days. But…yer one sexy mutant ya know that." He continued.

Mona blinked. Never before in her life, not even when she was still human, has a boy that liked her, ever called her sexy.

"I'm…what?" She asked still not sure she heard right.

He sighed deeply.

"Sexy, curvy, hot, an absolute babe!" He called out with an loud voice, the blush on his cheeks getting deeper by the second.

For a second Mona smiled at him before gazing down towards her feet.

"Thank you for tryin' to cheer me up Raph."

Growling with a hint of anger, he but down his can on the coffee table and took her soft green hand in his. Pulling at her, she stood up from her seat and followed him in the direction April and Casey disappeared into.

"How about this one Case?" April asked holding up an old hockey sweater.

"That was a present from grandma Jones. I ain't givin' that away.

With a sigh his wife started to look trough the closet again, until two mutants entered the bedroom.  
Limping slightly, Mona tried to keep up with the turtles pace until she found herself standing in front of a large mirror which showed her entire body.

"Now look at yerself and tell me that ain't tha body of a very beautiful and sexy babe." Raph demanded as he put his hands on her shoulders.

A small blush crept on her face as she noticed that her body didn't look the same as before. She wasn't a girl who was blessed with the curves other young women had and it had always made her look a little younger then she really was. Mona was most surprised to find out that she now indeed looked like a full grown young woman.  
Not only that but her hair looked a bit more curly and longer then it used to be.  
She shuddered and discarded that last thought, hoping it was a trick of the light in the room or that she was thinking too much about the other parts of her body.

Mona Lisa shyly crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"You're a perv." She whispered to Raphael.

"Then don't look so fine." He teased her as he shot her a grin.

All the time Casey Jones stared at the arguing pair, while his wife didn't paid any attention to the mutants and continued to search the wardrobe for anything useful.

"Oh here we go!" April suddenly said.

* * *

Gentle arms lifted her up from the position she was laying in.

"Donnie?" She asked softly as she slowly opened her eyes.

"Hey you're up." He whispered with a smile on his face.

"I was just about to move you to my room. The couch isn't the best place to take a nap since it's about to fall apart any day now."

"Where would you sleep?"

"Knowing me I would probably have my face stuck to one of my designs tomorrow morning." He grinned at her.

"Is she up Don?" A high and energetic voice asked.

"Yes she is Mikey."

As the face of an orange clad turtle, with bright blue eyes, came into few. Mei couldn't help but smile a little as she shifted herself into a sitting position on the couch.

"Hi, I'm Mikey, Don's younger bro. I'm sure he's told you about me."

She shook her head.

"Doooonnniiiieee! Why haven't you told her about me?" the younger turtle asked pouting his lips.

"One tends to forget that when caring for the wounds of another." He answered flatly.

"Want me to go and get Master Splinter?"

Donnie nodded.

"Want me to get you anything babe? Water, tea, chips, comics?"

"No I'm fine thank you."

With that Mikey jolted out of the living room.

"I'm sorry about that."

"Why? You're brother seems very energetic and cheerful." She told him blinking a couple of times.

"True, but he's still the annoying younger brother most of the time. It's hard to keep him in check."

"At least he's not crazy." She mumbled.

"I'm not sure about that."

"Has he ever mixed a 'banana split' with mustard?" She asked him.

Donnie frowned at the thought of the combination.

"Of course not. Mikey loves food and he's the best cook in the lair. He wouldn't do anything like that."

"Then he's not crazy." Mei stated.

"She's over here Master Splinter." She could hear Mikey say.

The tapping sound of a wooden cane against the stone floor filled the air.

"How do you feel child?" An grey looking rat wearing a brown robe asked her.

He smiled his fatherly smile before taking a seat next to her.

"My head…it's pounding so much." She told him.

"Aren't the painkillers working?" Donnie asked her.

She shook her head with a sad smile.

"Donatello why don't you and Michelangelo, prepare a bath for the young lady."

"Yes father." Both turtles said before slightly bowing and leaving the room.

"What is your name?" The rat asked turning his attention back towards her.

"Mei." She answered.

"You have a strong chi Mei. I can sense it. But something is bothering you isn't it?"

"Yes. I've lost a friend when we arrived here. I was searching for her down in the sewers when…I slipped and hit my head." She explained.

"I'm sure you'll find your friend child. Until then let my sons search for you as you are in no condition yet to walk."

Meipeichi frowned a bit. She thought it was nice of the Michelangelo and Donatello of this world to take care of her. But they and their father treated her like she was made out of porcelain.

"I am feeling much better…sir. It's just my head."

The old rat shook his head as she bit her tongue fighting the urge to call the creature 'master'.

"Please call met Splinter or master Splinter as my sons usually call me." He insisted.

Mei nodded.

"Well my child I must say I am surprised to see another one of our kind."

"I'm…I'm not from around here." She started to explain.

To her surprise Master Splinter nodded in understanding.

"Your accent is Eastern so my guess is that you are from that area Mei. Nevertheless you are injured and you are free to stay as long as you'd like. Our home is your home." The rat told her as he gestured to her surroundings.

It was then the female turtle noticed something she wasn't expecting. The "lair" in the world she was in, was not that small as she was used to.  
There was no worn out subway cart or narrow staircase. Instead two bridges crossed a wide, stream of water and gave a calm feeling to the large room she was in.

"Your home…it's wonderful." She said while gawking at the size of their sewer home.

The old rat smiled.

"We had to move more than once I am afraid. Ever since our original home was destroyed my sons are…rather spoiled with the large living space we found after that."

Mei smiled as she pulled up her knees on the worn sofa.

"I'll bet it's nice living like this."

"We don't care much for the space we live in child. Yes I admit without it my sons would never have been free to do what they like most and the training area would not have been efficient either."

"But it's because you're together as a family that makes any place a home right?" She finished for him.

Splinter nodded.

"Mei, your bath is ready." A soft voice called out to her.

A gentle hand pulled her of the sofa, as she walked away with Donatello on wobbling knees.

* * *

Soft music played in the large red room that Karai had claimed as her own. Gracefully she poured Leonardo a cup of tea before sitting down beside him on a couple of large pillows.

"No ceremony?" The turtle asked as he took the cup from her.

The woman laughed.

"It is true that the costumes of Japan where taught to me by my father. But since he is no longer ruling the Foot, I can do as I please."

"Really?"

She nodded as she sadly looked down into her drink.

"My father always ordered me around and pushed me during training since he found me. Of course I am still grateful that he saved me from the streets, it is nice to do the things I couldn't do when I was younger."

"Like hanging around with your former enemy?" He asked while smirking.

"And allowing myself to love you Leonardo." She added in a whisper as the raven haired woman leaned down and kissed the turtle on his cheek.

"Being here with you Karai…it makes me happy." He admitted.

She smiled and huddled closer towards the blue clad turtle.

"It is the same for me Leonardo."

A moment of silence fell as the two enjoyed each others company.

"Leonardo?" Karai suddenly asked.

"Yes Karai."

"When are you going to tell your brothers and father about us."

"I…I am still figuring out how to tell sensei. But I'm sure my brothers already know, since they always tease me when I go out to visit you."

"Are they….happy with us being together? Since I'm human and your former enemy on top of that."

"They don't seem to mind. But what matters is that I care for you and even if my brother won't agree with out relationship, it won't stop me."

Leo leaned down and softly kissed the top of her head.

"I'm glad." She whispered.

* * *

Before Mei stepped into the large, steamy bathtub, she glanced at herself in large piece of mirror that was probably pasted onto the stone wall.

Her eyes widened at her own reflection.

"Is something wrong?" Donatello asked as he let go of her hand.

With trembling hand she pointed at the mirror.

"That…That's not me." She chocked.

"What do you mean?" This time even the purple clad turtle seemed confused.

"My plastron isn't supposed to look like this." She whispered as she crossed her arms in front of her chest to shield it to glaring eyes.

"Hmmm yes well if you mean those human curves…" Donnie asked with a blush.

She shook her head but understood what he meant, since she also wondered why her body looked more like a mammal then a reptile ever since she entered the stage of puberty.

"My plastron…used to be higher…" She explained her face growing hot.

"And my skin wasn't this light before."

"Maybe it's the light in here and you did fall down on your head of course. Perhaps you're imagining it?" He suggested as he once again led her towards the tub.

"You've got a cute tail though." He shyly added when her bare feet hit the warm water.

"Huh?"

"Our tails somehow vanished during our mutation. You still have yours…it's uhm…cute."

She smiled at him as she placed herself on the edge of the tub a faint blush still gracing her face.

"Ah shell why did I go and say that…I'll leave you alone…just call when you need anything." He said with a great speed before fleeing from the bathroom.

She giggled as she could hear him mutter softly.  
Once again she looked at herself in the mirror and then down at the strange new part of her body. She could see a small piece of hidden green skin underneath her plastron, skin which was, until now, always hidden and protected. Wondering if it was all real or if she was just imagining things like Donatello assured her, she gently poked the skin. It felt warm, soft and all too real.

"Stupid spell." She growled before removing her gear and lowering herself in the warm water.

* * *

As Mona Lisa walked out of the bedroom, she gently took hold of the large sweater April picked out for her.  
It was plain, warm and slightly worn.

"Now why and did ya go and lose all tha sexy." Raph smirked.

Mona took hold of one of the pillows in the living room and tossed it towards the turtles head. To no surprise he caught it with ease and smirked at her.

"Now ya just look cute." He added.

April smiled and sighed as she walked into the kitchen to prepare dinner.

"Hey why don't ya guys stay for dinner tonight?" Casey suggested.

"Ya sure it ain't no trouble Case?"

"No please Raphael. I have to go look for my friend. I need to know if she's alright."

"Hate tha spoil it for ya doll. But with yer leg like that ya ain't lookin' for nobody."

Mona frowned.

"I'm not a child and my leg is fine." She insisted.

"Will ya stop bein' so stubborn and eat somethin'. I'll bet ya haven't had a decent meal in a while. After that ya can look for yer friend and I ain't stoppin' ya. Alright doll?"

Mona nodded at his suggestion as she placed herself back on the couch.

"Thanks." She muttered.

"What for?" He asked with a heavy voice.

"For making me feel better." She said smiling at him.

For a moment Raphael could have sworn her eyes where glistering with joy as he smiled back at her.


	8. This is our welcome

**Somehow the scenes with Raph and Mona work out way better then those with Donnie and Venus. Oh well.  
Sorry for any spelling errors English isn't my first language.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own TMNT, Venus or Mona Lisa.**

**Taken for granted**

**This is our welcome.**

Mei flinched and tightened her grasp on the fluffy white towel she had wrapped around her. The touch of the large crocodile was gentle but clumsy as he tried to unwrap the soaked bandage around her skull.

"What do you think LH?" Mikey asked looking a bit concerned.

"A mild concussion I believe." He answered.

"Will I live to see the morning?" she asked with a small grin on her face.

"You will have to because it will not be wise for you to sleep tonight." He answered flatly.

"Are you sure?" The purple clad turtle asked his friend.

"Just to make sure it doesn't get any worse. The wound seems to be deeper then we originally thought my friend."

Donatello just nodded as he started to wrap clean bandages around Mei's green skin.

"What am I to do during that time?"

"You could play videogames with me dudette!" The youngest shouted as he jumped up from his seat.

Again the female turtle flinched but this time it was because of sudden painful, pounding inside her head.

"I appreciate the offer Michelangelo, but I am afraid my head is disagreeing with me." She said with a smile.

"Oh…well another time then?" He asked hopefully.

She nodded as Donatello finished with the bandage.

"Have you eaten anything yet my child?" Master Splinter asked suddenly.

"Not yet sir."

"I could make you something." The youngest offered.

"I'll be fine really." She whispered.

"You should have some dinner with us you know it will help to keep your strength up." Donatello pressed on.

"I'm alright really, I feel so much better thanks to your care. But my friend is still out there and I have to find her."

"Not in the condition you are in my child. Your body needs rest before you face the dangers of the surface."

"Dangers sir?"

"Master means the gangs that riot up there. The Purple dragons is the largest of them right now and if they see you they are sure to attack you."

"Why would they do that Donnatello?" she asked.

" 'Cause were mutants of course dudette!" Mikey smiled.

"Hun, their leader, doesn't take kindly to us mutants since we keep minding his business. But if you want I could call my older brother Raph and ask him if he could keep a look out for your friend."

"Really! That would be wonderful. Thank you."

Donnie gently pushed Mei towards their dinning table the moment she jumped up with joy.

"Now why don't you just take a seat at the table and let Mikey prepare some dinner for us."

"But…isn't there anything I can do to help out?" she asked.

He just smiled at her.

"Just make yourself at home."

* * *

The thug grunted as he heard his cell ring in his pocket. He looked at the display and noticed the familiar number.

"Yeah boss." The young man growled into the small device.

"Have you found out yet what happened, Dragonface?" A heavy voice asked him.

"Not yet boss. We only ran into one of them turtles and a lizard girl. They put up a real fight too but we don't think they got anything tha do with that flash."

"A lizard girl?"

"Like one of them turtles boss. Only a lizard ya know."

"Have you thought of the possibility that she might have caused, whatever it was that happened last night!" The heavy voice yelled.

Dragonface flinched as the shouts reached his ear.

"There was nothin' there that could have done it Hun sir. Tha only thing out of tha ordinary is an old scroll we found a couple of blocks back. It looks like something Japanese is written on it."

"Bring that to me. Who knows it might fetch a good price at the black market and send a second team in to keep looking for the cause of that light!"

"Yes sir!"

* * *

"Well Master Splinter is it working?" an impatient Leonardo asked as he watched his master meditate.

"Silence my son I need to concentrate if I am able to find Venus in the dreamrealm." The old rat scolded.

The older one nodded as he watched and waited until his teacher was finished.

"She is not there." He calmly said as he unfolded his legs from his position.

"Then where could she be! She can't just disappear into thin air!" Raphael shouted as he punched against the wall.

"Could it be the dragons? Or the foot perhaps?" Donatello asked the others.

"Ya eye in tha sky didn't notice those thugs running around here Don."

"True but it might be malfunctioning."

"Guys could it be that flash Leo and Master Splinter saw?" Michelangelo softly asked his brothers.

"You think one of her spells backfired?"

"That would explain the burst of energy I felt when she vanished Leonardo."

"Well good riddance! Who needed tha shinobi anyway." Raph huffed.

"Raphael! She's the only female turtle of our kind. Isn't she like a sister to you?" the leader asked.

"No she ain't. Otherwise I wouldn't be flirtin' with her from tha start and neither would you fearless one!"

Donatello sighed.

"Here we go again."

* * *

The small red clad turtle sighed as he straightened the tie April put on him. He found it hard to breath with the thing grasping around his neck. The white flowers he had picked out for her, started to slightly go limp in his hand.  
But he knew she wouldn't care, it was the thought that counted.

"Mona Lisa. Are ya home doll?" He asked as he pounded at her makeshift door.

At the third knock, he noticed the door opening by itself.

Curious Raphael peered inside and noticed the small room wasn't inhabited. A white dress was hung over the broken mirror of the dresser she loved so much. Two cups stood on the table and he noticed, as he walked towards the table, that there was still tea in them.  
He also found no trace of the turtle girl he brought to her the day before.

"Mona Lisa?"

Confused he looked around.

"Sheesh at least she could have left a note or somethin'."

* * *

She smiled widely as she felt the familiar flavour of stew hit her tongue.

"It's been so long." She whispered to herself.

"What's that Mona?" April asked.

"It's been a while since I've had stew. This is delicious April."

The red head smiled back at her.

"I'm glad you like it."

"Ya ain't used to nothin' are ya? My bro Mikey might be a goofball, but he's a genius in the kitchen." Raphael praised before he took another bite.

"It's his recipe by the way." The young woman told the mutants before folding her hands under her chin.

"So…what are ya gonna do tonight Mona? Ya ain't got no place tha stay right?"

Mona blinked at the turtle.

"I was going to look for my friend actually. I'll find a place to sleep on my own." She answered.

"I still don't think it's wise to go out in this cold with your leg like that." April whispered with a worried look on her face.

"I know, take Raph here with ya." Casey Jones proposed.

"What! Why!" Both mutants called out.

"Casey is right. Two euhm…mutants might see more then one and Raph knows the city. You won't get lost with him around."

"Shell…fine I'll help ya."

"Who said I wanted your help?"

"Not this again." Raph sighed.

"I appreciate everything you've done for me, but I'm a big girl Raphael, I can take care of myself."

"I know. Ya sure did a number on those dragons doll. Just…just…aww shell I hate tha see ya getting' hurt with yer leg wounded like that."

An awkward moment of silence fell as Mona kept staring at the turtle. It truly sounded like he cared for her. Was April right after all?

* * *

"Strange it seems that she just left." Leonardo mumbled as he and his brothers entered Mona's room.

"Raphael dude. I think Mona Lisa doesn't like you anymore." Michelangelo suddenly said.

"Why do you say that?"

The orange clad turtle held up a black book he found on her dresser.

"Look dude, she kept time and dates from every time you where supposed to pick her up to go out."

The red clad turtle swiftly yanked the notebook from his brothers hands and started to read it.

"Save the world, save April, save the world, save April, April, April, April again and one bowling night with the guys." He muttered.

"Do we really save April that much?" Michelangelo wondered.

"Did you even take her out recently?"

"Of course I have Leonardo! Just last week I stopped by to watch tha wrestle championship here."

"Rapheal, taking a girl out does mean you have be with her somewhere outside of her home." Donatello bluntly stated.

Suddenly a sharp beeping noise came from the purple clad turtle. He pulled out a gizmo from his belt and made the noise stop.

"What is that Donatello dude?"

"My portable, dimensional particle detector. It detects high amounts of those particle trails you get when someone jumps from one dimension to another." He explained.

"So are ya sayin' that my dollface has jumped to another dimension!"

"Looks like it Raphael."

* * *

Mona felt a rush of blood going towards her head every few seconds. She firmly held onto the thick green neck of the red clad turtle, her legs wrapped around his waist as they moved across rooftops.

She cursed her leg for giving out on her at such a time, but she did enjoy the knightly gesture of the turtle as he ordered her to climb onto his shell.

"Ya see her yet?" He suddenly asked.

"No…not yet."

"Shell this is takin' forever. Mona ya think it might be a good idea to start searchin' again early tomorrow mornin'?"

"Why? It's not that late yet and Mei might be…"

"Listen babe it ain't personal but it ain't very effective lookin' for a person like this. When we both get some rest and yer leg is a bit better, we can ask my bro's to help us and we'll find yer friend in a split second."

Again a moment of silence fell.

"Can she fight?" Raph suddenly asked.

"I guess…she kinda looks like one of….like a mutant turtle."

"She's a mutant turtle?"

Mona gently let herself down on the cold roof.

"Yeah."

"Then she ain't from around here 'cause we've never seen a mutant turtle in New York. Other then me and my bro's I mean."

"She's not from New York wiseguy. She's from the east…China I believe she said."

"Ya still wanna look fer her tonight?"

Mona shook her head.

"No you're right. This city seems a lot bigger then anything I've seen so far…it would be almost impossible to find her."

"Don't start cryin' now." The turtle said as he noticed her sad look.

"I ain't crying you jerk!"

"Ya are from this town ain't ya. Ya got this Brooklyn accent mixed in there doll." He said trying to change the subject.

"Yeah well…I didn't like it so I try my best to get rid of it. But I wasn't born here, my mother came from Brooklyn."

"Well…yer accent is cute."

"What?"

"It suits ya. Now if ya'd like I want tha show ya somethin'."

Before she could protest, the red clad turtle already carried her in his arms and raced across the rooftops again.

At some point he just stopped and looked at her with a grin on his face.

"Close yer eyes." He told her.

Mona raised a brow but did as she was told. She felt him move again, slowly, gently until she was put back on the ground.

"Alright doll open up." He gently said.

When she did a dazzling sight of millions of lights lighting up the city met her gaze. The sound of New York was as music to her ears and she wondered if these where the famous lights the Big Apple was famous for.

"Welcome tha New York."

The lizard girl once again looked at the Raphael next to her and it was then she came to a conclusion. Unlike the one from her world, this Raph easily showed his softer side to her as well as the rough and crude turtle she was used too.  
She hated to admit it…but Mona Lisa was enjoying the company of the romantic sap who called himself Raphael.

* * *

She tried to breath as steadily as she could, her hands gently pressed against Donatello's. The scent of incense and the soft light of candles filling the room master Splinter used for meditation.

"You're breathing isn't right Mei." Donnie whispered.

"I'm sorry…it just hurts too much for me to concentrate."

"So fathers medication didn't work after all…"

"It did help a little…but not much I'm afraid." She admitted.

"Can I get you anything?"

She shook her head.

"You really are too sweet Donatello."

"Just Donnie remember and why do you keep saying that? You make me blush."

"I…I'm sorry." Mei apologized feeling a rush of heat rising up to her cheeks.

"D-Don't apologize, I just get flustered easily that all." He stammered as he stood up.

"Then if it not too much trouble…some herbal tea perhaps."

"Sure and I'll give my brother a call in the mean time…I'll be back soon alright."

Mei nodded.

As Leonardo stepped into the lair with a smile on his face, he noticed his cool headed younger brother walk past him.

"Get flustered easily! I'm such an idiot." He growled under his breath.

"Donnie is everything alright?"

Donatello stopped and turned around to face the fearless leader.

"I don't know what to do Leo."

"Do about what?"

"This feeling I have. Like my heart is trying to jump out of my chest."

**And that's the end of this chapter. I don't know when I'll be updating again since I'm taking a little break at the end of the month.**


	9. This is our journey

***Blows dust from the fanfic* It's about time I finished this. Sorry everyone for keeping you waiting for over a year. Some things happened and this kinda became forgotten.  
But I'll finish this one way or the other.**

**Again sorry for any grammar errors in this.**

Disclaimer: I don't own TMNT. Now moving on!

**Taken for granted.**

**Chapter 9: This is our journey.**

A faint smell of smoke and burnt plastic filled the small living room space of the turtles.  
Frustrated Donatello muttered under his breath and the leader could only catch a couple of his words which didn't make much sense to him.

"It's busted isn't it?" He finally dared to ask.

"No. No. It's just...out of commission at the moment."

"It's busted Donatello."

With a heavy sigh the purple clad turtle couldn't help but nod and admit his defeat.

"Without the transdimentional portal device, we can't go after Mona Lisa and get her back." He whispered to the leader.

"Can you fix it?" The one in orange carefully asked.

"Maybe. I need a whole bunch of parts but it could take a few days before I've assembled them all. Then another few days until I could get the portal device working again. By then the molecule trace we found will be long gone."

The hard sound of a fist colliding with brick suddenly startled the group. Worried and a bit annoyed, the three turtles turned their gaze towards Raphael, who was shaking with rage, letting his fist stay connected with the red brick of their home.

"Raphael, that's not helping you get Mona Lisa back."

"It's my fault anyway. I should 'ave paid more attention to her." He whispered.

"Don't blame yourself dude. Yeah It's your fault she hates your guts now. But I'll bet that chick we picked up is the one who like kidnapped her and stuff." Michelangelo told him while waving the little black book in front of his face.

"We can only hope she's alright. Don't worry Raphael, we'll probably see her again. She survived an exploding submarine. That girl is made out of stronger stuff then you and me." Leonardo assured him with a broad smile.

The red clad turtle nodded before quickly taking Mona's black notebook from the hands of the youngest.

"I need some time alone guys." Were his final words before he took his leave.

"Will Raphael be alright?" Michelangelo asked.

The blue clad turtle raised his shoulders.

"I'm sure it's nothing pizza and a movie can't help cure."

* * *

Cold, murky water danced around her legs as she slowly made her way through the underground sewer tunnels of New York.  
Every now and then Mona stopped to lean against the tunnel wall as a sharp, stinging pain would shoot through her wounded leg.

Every time she stopped, the red clad turtle leading the way, would sigh in frustration before giving her a scolded look on his though she has allowed him to carry her over the rooftops just moments before, Mona Lisa still wasn't too keen on the turtle helping her any heavy sigh escaped him when he no longer noticed the movement of water behind him.

"Would ya stop bein' so stubborn already."

In return she shot him an angry and frustrated look.

"Look...Yer leg is obviously botherin' ya. Just...let me carry ya to tha lair so ya can rest up." He suggested before making his way towards her.

"I'll be fine." She whispered as she once again leaned against the wall.

Raphael growled.

"Ya've been like this the whole time Mona. Why? Why don't ya just accept my help? " He asked with and heavy, angry voice. "I told ya I was sorry a million times already."

"It's because..." She started, carrying the same hint of anger in her voice as him.

Before she finished her sentence she stopped and turned her gaze towards the murky water.

Mona Lisa now wondered why she kept declining his help. She knew she made the promise with Mei, to take care of things without the help of any ninja turtle. But right now the girl found herself in a situation where a helping hand from anyone would be a welcome gesture.

She looked at the red clad turtle, with an confused expression. She felt no anger towards him. Frustration maybe, but no anger. Not like with the one form her world, whom could make her blood boil sometimes.

"Sorry." She finally muttered. "Ya're right. It's just...I'm a bit frustrated at someone...who looks a little like you. I guess a part of me took it out on you and decided to be stubborn in the mean time."

"Who...looks a little like me?" He asked.

She chuckled softly before shaking her head.

"Never mind. He's not important... Does your offer still stand?"

He flashed her a grin as she slightly limped toward him before holding on to him for support.

"I don't think that's gonna work." Raphael remarked.

Before she could ask him what he meant, he had already swooped her of her feet and carried her in his arms

"Ya sure you're going to carry me all the way there?

"Yer not heavy babe. It'll be no problem."

She sighed once again and shook her head once more. A small smile curled on her lips.

"I should be askin' more about what ya meant by bein' frustrated with someone who looks like me. But I did kinda overheard ya talk with April earlier." He confessed suddenly.

"So you know?" She carefully asked.

"Yeah. Ya could have told me sooner though. I wouldn't have judged you bein' from another dimension and all."

"Really?"

He slightly chuckled before continuing.

"Yer talkin' to a mutant turtle. One who's had his share of strange adventures. That yer from another dimension ain't surprising me no more then that ya are a mutant lizard or that yer friend is a mutant turtle too. Like ya told me before."

"It's not like...I don't think it was the plan for me and my friend to stay here very long. April kind of figured out I was lying from the start. So I knew it would be no use lying any more to her."

Raphael nodded, letting her know he understood her reasoning, as he slowed down his pace a little.

"Was there...any reason for you to come here?"

Mona frowned a bit at hearing that question.

"That is the last question I'll answer." She huffed.

He let out another light chuckle.

"I'm gettin' on yer nerves doll?"

"A little." She confessed.

"Fine, fine. That'll be the last question. For now..." He told her with a smirk on his face.

"To answer your question." Mona started. "There wasn't an real reason why I came here. Earlier today the ninja turtles from my world, suddenly dropped Mei at my doorstep."

"Mei?"

"That's another question Raphael." She frowned.

He shot her a grin and she couldn't help but sigh and shake her head.

"Mei is my friend. We kinda bonded during a cup of tea and she had this scroll with her. She told me that it was magical and that was the how she got into my world. I asked her if I could come with her if she used it again."

"Got ya stranded in that alley huh." The red clad turtle stated.

Mona Lisa nodded and a long uncomfortable silence started between the two mutants.  
After a while the red clad turtle loudly cleared his throat.

"Try tha get some sleep Mona. It'll be a while until we reach the lair." He suddenly said.

"Kind of hard to do. Not to complain or anything Raph, but this isn't the most...practical pose for me to get some rest."

With a muffled growl he gently put her down in the cold, murky water, before kneeling as deeply as he could without getting too wet. He held his arms as far as he could behind his shell. Gesturing for her to climb onto his back.  
With a clumsy hop, she managed to cling herself onto him.

"This better for ya? Your majesty." He asked her in an teasing, almost mocking tone.

"Yes quite comfortable indeed." She teased back with fake English accent.

Both couldn't help but laugh at each others attempts of mocking the other.

"Seriously though. Try tha get some sleep Mona. I'll wake ya up when we get there." He assured here.

With a sigh, the girl closed her eyes and leaned against him. Trying to force herself into a light slumber.

* * *

The longer his older brother kept looking at him, with an all knowing smile on his face, the more uneasy he felt. Carefully Donatello poured the steaming hot water into two little cups. Both where chipped slightly and were obviously used for more cups of tea then normally.

"Stop that." The purple clad turtle told Leonardo with an scowl.

"I can't help it Donnie. I don't think I've ever seen that look on your face before." The older one teased.

"I don't know what you mean." He told him, turning away his gaze as a faint shade of pink shone trough the green of his skin.

"That. I know you've had crushes on girls before. With April, Sidney and of course Renette, If memory serves me well." The blue clad turtle told him with an teasing smile.

"Stop it Leo. So I like her. Big deal. I'm not teasing you about liking Karai am I?"

"No. It's that that...well you're clearly falling for her. Fast I might add. What's a big brother to do then tease you about it."

The purple clad turtle was about to make a remark on his brother's comment, when the all familiar tune of his celshell put him out of his chain of thoughts.

"Donnie speaking."

The older one could hear a few faint mumbles coming from the other side of the cell.

"Really?" The purple clad turtle asked.

Patiently Leo waited until his brother was finished with his conversation. He never noticed the soft sound, of the sliding door to the meditation room opening.  
Slowly Mei stepped out, her hands being close to her chest and with an worried look on her face. When Leonardo finally did notice her, he shot her a small smile before bowing slightly.

"You must be Mei. My brother has told me so much about you. I am Leonardo."

Again the purple clad turtle shot him an angry glare.

"Nice to meet you Leonardo." She softly whispered while bowing as deeply as she could, without causing to much dizziness.

"Thank you for the info LH. I'll take care of it." Donnie mumbled before hanging up his phone.

"Well, what was that all about?"

"That was LH, Leo. He did some more research on concussions. I'm ashamed I didn't remember such an important thing myself. But remember when we told you, you couldn't sleep Mei?" He asked her while handing her the steaming cup of tea.

She nodded in reply.

"That was the wrong advice to give. In fact according to an medical book Leatherhead has lying around, you should be getting plenty of sleep instead."

"Shame on you Donnie for misinforming the lady." Leonardo teased waving his finger back and forth.

"Just for that! You can make your own tea!" Donatello huffed in anger before emptying the boiling hot water from their teapot and the cup into the sink.

"Oh come on Donnie." Leo pleaded.

"Excuse me Mei while I'll go and prepare a bed for you." He said while taking his leave.

While he walked away to another part of the lair, he happened to pass Mikey, who was holding a piece of cyan colored cloth in his hands.  
With an raised brow he looked at the angry steps his older brother was making. It confused him since Donnie had always been the level headed one of the bunch.

"What the shell is his beef?" He asked Leonardo who kept an all knowing smirk on his face.

"I would like to know that as well." Mei told the younger one before she sipped her tea.

"Oh I was just teasing Donnie."

"That's my job Leo! I get to tease you guys! Especially Raph." The orange clad turtle stated.

"Sorry Mike. Couldn't resist. I mean with the way he's been acting now."

"Oh yeah. You noticed it too bro?"

Leonardo nodded. Leaving the girl even more puzzled then before.

"Care to inform me as well?" She asked with an strict expression on her face.

The two brothers chuckled.

"It's not our place to say such a thing. I enjoyed teasing Donnie as much as I did, but if I told you why I would never live it down." The leader explained.

"For sure! Mei, could ya try this on for me?" Mickey suddenly asked her.

"What is it?"

"A new bandana dudette. 'Cause Donnie wrecked your old one."

"He had a good reason to." she smiled while putting the cup down on the kitchen counter.

She took the piece of cloth from the youngest hands and carefully wrapped it around her head. It wasn't like her old bandana, since the piece of cloth covered her entire scalp. Somewhat similar like the Michelangelo from her world wore his band.

"It's very roomy." She told him.

"Too much?" He asked her.

She tried to tighten the piece of cloth a little more, but it didn't improve much.

"A little." She confessed.

The younger turtle frowned a bit as she handed the piece of cloth back to him.

"I'll get it right, don't worry." He assured her with a goofy smile before heading back to his room.

"So...You're not from around here are you?" Leo suddenly asked.

She blinked in surprise before she smiled softly at him.

"Did my accent gave it away?"

"No. Well yeah that too. But my brother told me. China I believe he said."

She nodded as she once again took her tea and sipped the cup.

"You know some Shinobi magic too huh?"

Again she nodded in reply.

"Donnie also told me that you're looking for your friend, because you two got separated."

A nod again.

"So Mei, do you have a mate back in China?"

Hearing that question made her tea go the wrong way. As a heavy couching fit overwhelmed, her and worsened her headache in the process, she managed to glare daggers at him.

"Such...*cough cough* a bold thing *cough* to ask Leonardo!"

Quickly the blue clad turtle handed her a glass of cool water, which she happily accepted.

"Oh no. I didn't mean this as something rude Mei. It's just, well. We've met a ton of strange creatures. Even stranger then us, but we never have met a female of our kind. So I'm asking this..."

He didn't dare continue as the look he gave her was enough to kill him right then and there.

"Oh you are all the same!" She yelled at him.

As Donatello made his way back into the kitchen he couldn't help but overhear the shouting going on there.

"Leo what did you do?" He asked with an frown.

"I only asked her if she already had an mate."

"Don't make me hit you with my bo. You have a girl!" He warned his older brother.

An flash of warmth rose to her cheeks, both because of the feeling of anger that overwhelmed her and the feeling of embarrassment.

"Leo you should really start thinking before you bluntly ask such questions. Don't you see you're embarrassing her, not to mention pissing her of. " The purple clad turtle continued.

"I'm sorry Mei. I didn't think you would take offence to such a question. I just wanted to know if you are single. Just in case...you know...either Mikey, Raph or even Donnie here get the idea of...trying to woo you when you're already taken." The leader explained calmly, putting the emphasis more on Donatello's name then his other brothers.

"Single? As in if I have a boyfriend or not?" She suddenly asked, hearing his explanation.

Leonardo nodded with an small smile.  
Suddenly her cheeks began to warm up even more but her feeling of anger disappeared, making place for the strongest wave of embracement she has ever felt so far.

"I thought...you where asking...if I mated already." She stammered in a whisper as she tried to hide her face in the palm of her hands.

Leonardo let out a hearty laugh.

"I'm sorry Mei. I should have been more clear." He laughed.

"Warn me if he does ask you that question. I'll be happy to lend you my staff so you can wack him on the head." The purple clad turtle offered.

"So embarrassing." She whispered to herself.

"Don't feel that way. There are a million worse things to be embarrassed about." Donnie assured her. "Come on why don't you get some sleep."

Nodding slightly she followed the purple clad turtle to one of the rooms in the large lair. It was dimly lit by many computer screens lined up on a long desk.  
Even though the blue light was fairly dim, it hurt her eyes and in turn the headache began getting worse.

"Donatello. I hate to be a bother but..."

"Oh. The lights? Are they too bright?" He asked as he noticed her eyes squinting.

Mei nodded.

"Give me a sec." He muttered before quickly turning of the screens. Only letting one, soft yellow, light one to illuminate the room.

"Is this your room?"

"What gave it away? The half dozen screens or the blueprints on the wall?" He chuckled.

"Are you sure you want me to sleep here? I mean this is your room and your bed...where will you sleep?"

"I'll probably have my head stuck to my desk in the morning like always. I've got a lot to do. Modify the battleshell and Raph's motorcycle. And if I do manage to drag myself from my desk, there's always the couch."

A slight frown appeared on her face.

"Are you sure?" The female turtle asked.

"Yes. Defiantly. Besides I hardly sleep in my bed."

She glanced at the bed. The sheets indeed looked like they haven't been slept in for a while and the pillow looked exceptionally fluffy.

"Go on. The bed won't bite." He joked.

Uncomfortably she swayed her body back and forth while keeping her arms once again close to her chest.  
The red blush on her cheeks already faded, but a hint of pink still lingered onto the skin. The female turtle murmured a quick thanks before her eyes met his.  
He whispered a soft 'you're welcome' before taking her hand and leading her onto the bed.

"Donatello?" She called out before he left the room and let her rest.

"Yes?"

"Don't be mad with your brother. I know what it's like being teased, but I think he's only doing that because I'm here and I believe he thinks you're... You're not really...You don't really like me that way do you? We only just met." She asked.

"What way?"

"You know...You aren't falling in love with me are you?"

He noticed how uncomfortable she was with asking that question.

"Did Leo tell you that?"

She shook her head.

"I might not understand every phrase you Americans have, but I can catch a hint when I hear one."

Donatello sighed and sat down next to her on the bed.

"When he explained why he asked if I had a boyfriend, I noticed him looking at you when he mentioned your name. He looked in a way that's been almost like he was teasing you again." She explained further.

"He's my big brother. Leo doesn't always act the part, but when he's not the leader, he just as easily teases me as he does with Mikey and Raphael."

She nodded.

"That still doesn't answer my question."

A moment of silence fell before he gently took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"Too early to say. But I am beginning to grow fondly of you..." He admitted.

"Donnie and Mei-sitting in a tree-K-I-S-S...AAAH." The sudden singing voice of Michelangelo interrupted before Mei could reply and Donnie ran out of the room with a growl.

She could clearly hear the youngest begging for mercy afterwards. Leonardo soon entered the room.

"Don't worry, it's just a noogy. Mike is not really being killed out there." He assured her.

"Do you two have to tease him so much?"

"We never tease Donnie normally. Well that's a lie. We tease him when he's being all techno turtle-ish sometimes. Give us a couple more minutes and we'll stop the teasing for today."

She shook her head and smiled before laying down on the bed.

"Do you need anything?" Leonardo suddenly asked.

"No. Just rest for now."

With a small yawn she closed her eyes and snuggled her face into the pillow. The fabric smelled like coffee mixed with the smell of copper.  
She could hear Leonardo leaving the room and closing the sliding door carefully. A faint shout of Master Splinter was heard before the pleads of the youngest stopped. Within a few minutes she could feel her body drift into slumber.

**The next chapter will be up sometime next week.**


	10. This is our reunion

**Thus the plot finally starts moving agian. Took me long enough. :P  
Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own TMNT.**

Taken for granted

Chapter 10: This is our reunion.

He didn't know what time it was when he sneaked into the lair. He didn't notice his brothers anywhere around, nor did he see any lights being left on. Their VCR kept blinking it's four zeros like it had always done since Donatello rescued the thing from the scrap yard. Raphael always used to tease him about not being able to program the thing with his wits in technology.  
A half drowsy Mona Lisa, still clung onto his back.

"We're 'ere?" She asked sleepily.

"Yeah. How's yer leg?"

"Dunno." She replied.

"How 'bout I take ya to my room?"

"Don't try any funny stuff mister."

He grinned at her remark.

"I wouldn't dare hot stuff. You just take a nice rest in my hammock and I'll sleep on the couch."

"Sure."

As he carefully made his way towards his room, Raphael noticed the light of Donnie's work space slash lab was still on. He sighed deeply, making a mental note to talk to his brainiac brother about the all-nighters he's had in a row.  
When he reached his room, the red clad turtle carefully laid the girl down on the makeshift hammock. As the thing swayed back and forth a little, he noticed her smiling at him.

"Thanks for everything...Raph."

"Yer welcome Mona and don't worry about yer friend. We'll find her." He whispered before taking his leave.

Before walking into the living room, the red clad turtle suddenly hesitated and turned his gaze towards the lab.  
As he decided to not postpone his talk with his brother any longer, he made his way to the light.

"Psst. Don ya awake?" He asked in a whisper as Raphael peeked around the corner of the room.

There indeed was, like the older one expected, hid brother sitting behind a large wooden workbench. Papers scattered here and there, covered with notes and scribbles and strangely enough, little hearts.

"Don? What's that?" Raphael asked while pointing at the little heart doodles.

"Distraction." Was the simple answer.

"Why hearts?" He asked before something dawned on him. "Oh shell Donnie. Yer not havin' the hots for April again have ya? She's married now."

"No. Don't worry. It's not April." Donatello sighed.

"Sidney?"

Again the purple clad turtle shook his head.

"Or that time girl...What was her name again?"

"Renette and no. Not her either."

"Ya got the hots for someone new then?" The older one teased with a smug grin as he leaned against the wooden workbench.

"Before you start teasing me Raph. Leo and Mikey already beat you to it and yes it's someone new. But I feel...conflicted."

"Ya now Don I was gonna come in here and lecture ya about gettin' some proper sleep, but since ya obviously have a problem. I'm all ears bro."

Donatello looked at him with a grateful expression.

"Thanks Raph."

"So, this girl. She pretty?"

"Very pretty."

"Nice too."

"She's calm and quiet most of the time. She hasn't been mean to me or the others so far. She's very...polite."

"Gee Don. Never would have thunk I would live tha see the day another human, besides April and Casey would accept one of us."

"Oh she's not human.

" 'Scuse me?" Raphael asked hoping he hadn't heard right.

"She's one of us. A mutant turtle. The odds of finding her is one in a gazillion. "

"She ain't named Mei, by any change would she?"

"How..."

With a heavy sigh, Raphael sat down on one of the extra bar stools standing in the room. He told his brother about how he met Mona Lisa and how she told him that she was looking for her friend and came from another dimension thanks to an magic scroll.

"She...she never told me that." Donnie whispered.

"I think she had her reasons not too. Mona told me there wasn't an specific reason why they came here. But I think there is. She's just aint' tellin' me right now."

"You say her leg's hurt."

Raphael nodded.

"Put up one hell of an fight against those purple dragons." He added.

"Mei has an concussion. I don't think it would be wise if we let those two go topside before they're fully recovered. Maybe we can get them to tell us the whole story in the meantime?"

"Maybe. But if what Mona said is true. Changes are they'll be gone once they'll find that scroll."

A short moment of silence fell between the two.

"Do ya...want her tha go?" Raph finally dared to ask his brother.

"No of course not. I'm getting kind of really attached to her. I kinda just told you that didn't I?" He admitted with a small smile.

"Same here. I mean Mona's a suborn broad, but she's a fellow mutant and I'm starting to really like her. Guess ya infected me with that 'love at first sight' thing we keep teasin' ya with when we met April.

As Raphael flashed a cocky grin, Donatello couldn't help but sigh and shake his head.

"We can't force them to stay. If they want to go...we shouldn't stop them. Even if they are fellow mutants and it has been a while since we've had contact with any new mutant period. Even if we...are starting to grow attached to them."

As Raphael leaned against the bench his face turned into a frown.

"You're right Donnie. It ain't very 'gentleturtle' like if we would just keep them here. We could however pursued them to stay a while longer."

The purple clad turtle raised a brow.

"What do you mean?"

Again the red clad turtle flashed his brother a grin.

"We make 'em feel as much at home as possible. Maybe they'll tell us why they came here when they more comfortable around us." He suggested.

"And maybe they'll think twice about leaving..." The other added.

In response he got a nod from his older brother.

"Besides, us mutants need tha stick together and since those ladies are injured at the moment, it's our job to look out for them."

Donatello frowned in response.

"You said Mona put up one hell of a fight against those Purple Dragons. Once they have been healed they won't need our protection anymore. Mei told me she knows Shinobi magic, you know first hand how powerful that can be."

Raphael slightly growled.

"Besides, what if they do want to leave after all of that?" The brainy one continued.

"We'll cross that hill when we get there. All I know is that the suborn broad, sleepin' in my room isn't someone who you'll meet everyday. Be honest Donnie. Not many accept us in a second. She knows what we're going through and vice versa." Raphael explained.

"Well not exactly. They are girls and even I haven't figured such an complicated species out yet." He said with a smile.

His brother just shook his head in response.

"We have to let them leave Raph. One way or the other, the choice should be theirs and it might hurt our feelings, but as long as they're happy..."

"Fine." The red clad turtle interrupted before taking his leave.

* * *

As Hun slowly kept turning the delicate paper in all directions he could, the one called 'Dragonface' stood before him with shivering knees.

"W-well boss?" He asked in a soft whisper.

"I can't read it. Where did you say you found this?" The large man asked with a booming voice.

"Just outside of the alleyway where we received that signal about that flash of light boss." He answered, again in a low whisper.

He waited patiently as he kept hearing low hums from the other man.

"I don't see anything unusual about this, but the markings are eastern. I have to cash in a little favor to get this translated."

"Boss?"

"I'll be going out for a few hours Dragonface." Hun replied as he stood up from his desk, clutching the delicate scroll in his large hands.

"Do you need...company where you are going boss? I can have a couple of my men ready within a few minutes."

"No need. Watch the fort. I'll be back soon."

With heavy footsteps, the leader of the Purple Dragons took his leave.

* * *

With a faint blush on her cheeks, Karai prepared herself for the night. Brushing her raven black hair was the last thing on her ritual list before she would lay her head on one of the soft pillows of her bed and would fall asleep.  
A loud knock on the door startled her in her routine and as quickly as she could, she took hold of a small dagger, always present under her pillow for sudden protection.

"Lady Karai." A female voice called.

"Yes." She answered as she slowly put her brush down and clenched the dagger ever more.

"Hun is here to speak to you my lady."

"Have our guards been sleeping!" She called out to the woman standing behind her bedroom door. "Hun is not allowed to enter here!"

"He hasn't lady Karai. He is standing at the front gate, asking permission to enter."

A small moment of silence fell as Karai loosened her grip on the small weapon.

"He has come alone my lady, he swears he did not come here to fight you. There is a certain matter which he needs your help with."

"Fine. Send him in and let him be escorted by a couple of our elite ninja." She growled.

Stomping across the room, she reached for her robe, hanging on a small golden hook near her bedroom door. With one swift move she put the piece of clothing on her body, never letting go of the small dagger, but being careful enough not to tear the delicate fabric.  
With a frown she took her place in the same room, where she and Leonardo shared tea together early that evening. The cups still sitting on the small wooden table.  
Moments later, Hun entered the room and bowed before her as a sign of respect. Four elite ninja keeping a close eye on him as the large man entered the room.

"Good evening Karai."

"State your business Hun!" She demanded to know.

He showed her a small evil grin before continuing.

"You must be wondering why I'm bothering you at such a late hour Karai."

"The Foot clan have no business anymore with the likes of you Hun." She spat at him with a most displeased look on her face.

In response he chuckled.

"I am aware of that. You are only willing to hear me out if I am willing to pay for some protection by one of your ninja. That is what you do now and days right? Kill whoever pays you enough to do so and protect the rich man your clan has been ordered to kill by another rich man?

"We offer our services to those who can afford it. We won't accept however if it dishonors the name of our clan. Now state your business!"

With a grin, Hun held up the scroll.

"I am aware your brainy people have probably picked up that energy spike earlier today?"

"So have your scientists no doubt." She spat back.

"One of my man found this near that energy spike. A flash of light as he described it."

With a clumsy toss, Hun threw the scroll onto the small table.

"Again I have no business with you. Can't your scientists work with this simple piece of paper?"

"They can't. They are...more simple then your team of brainy slaves. I can't translate what's on that thing either."

"Give me one reason why I should help you?" Karai demanded to know.

Again Hun gave her a evil smile.

"Because you owe me a favor for keepin' my Dragons out of your turf."

"You being scared of the Foot clan is no reason for me to help you."

"Oh I'm not scared Karai. I could very well beat the shit out of you and your ninjas."

In response the elite warriors began taking a stance. Ready to protect the girl.

"Besides. I have the means to expose to the entire city what you've been up to as daddies little girl." Hun added with a sly smile.

"With such a dark reputation, do you honestly believe the city would buy your words?"

"We'll see. I have high connections."

"So have I." She responded back as she narrowed her eyes and shot him the most evil stare she could.

"All I'm askin' is for you or that brainy bunch of yours, to translate this."

"Why does this piece of paper mean so much to you?"

"Who knows? It might help you get rid of me, or the other way around."

She thought for a moment before she remembered that her science team did mention that the energy spike, could have been enough to wipe out any enemy in her way, if they could harvest that energy and control it.  
Karai knew Hun couldn't be trusted, but she also knew that if the scroll was indeed the key to the energy spike, that she wouldn't give it up so easily

"I'll give it back to you at the end of the month." She told him.

"Two weeks it is then. Oh and don't expect me to pick that thing up all by myself next time Karai." He told her with a heavy voice.

"I wasn't expecting that you would come alone next time. Hun. I'll be prepared for your arrival then. You won't get away unharmed with this scroll, if it does prove to be useful to me."

With a loud laugh he left the room and she gave her elite ninja the sign to escort him out.  
Not long after, the captain of the elite guard knocked on her open door, before bowing and waiting for her to allow him in.

"Captain. Get a small team of our finest ninja out to keep track of Hun and his activities. I want to get to the bottom of why he wants to use this piece of paper so badly." She ordered him.

Again the captain bowed before quickly taking his leave.

Karai sighed as she carefully unrolled the scroll. Several markings where gracefully written on the old paper. Markings that did not seem familiar to her at first glance.

"Must be ancient Mandarin or something." She muttered before yawning slightly.

Slowly waking up to the sound of someone walking about, outside of the room she was in. Mona soon found herself staring at her surroundings. Which was dimly lit by an light coming from outside of the room, shining from behind an half open door.  
A slight swaying movement almost begged her body to go back to sleep, but the small collection of small dumbbells resting on a bookshelf and empty soda cans sitting beside them, along with some posters of motor bikes and bikini models on the wall, made her suddenly remember that this wasn't her neatly as could be bedroom.  
As she tried to move and force her body to wake up, she also noticed that she wasn't in her normal bed. Instead it smelled like a mixture of oil, sweat and a bit of blood and it certainly wasn't as low to the ground as she was used to.  
Carefully she managed to slide herself out of the hammock and onto the solid ground. All the while her wounded leg let her know that it still wasn't happy with the sudden brawl she decided to have the night before.  
In the dim light, Mona managed to find a small lamp, much to her delight. As soon as she lit it, she regretted getting out of the hammock immediately. Not only the bookshelf, but also the floor was littered with empty soda cans and she recognized a couple of squished beer cans as well.

"Must have been Casey giving him those." She muttered to herself as she took another glance into the small room.

In one corner, heavier dumbbells where neatly stacked on their rack. Besides the soda cans however, various other items were scattered on the floor. She managed to identify some dirty socks and bandanas together with some other items she wouldn't even dare to guess what they used to be. Though it puzzled her why Raphael would have worn socks to begin with.  
A couple of magazines also graced the floor with their presence. Curious as to what this Raphael would read, she picked one up. Only to be greeted with a rush of warmth going to her cheeks and a photo of a naked human posing in a suggestive way.  
She blinked a couple of times before chuckling slightly.

"This guy at least has taste." She whispered to herself in amusement. "Not to mention he actually acts like a guy." She added while slightly shaking her head.

Suddenly a small alarm clock, sitting on the bookshelf, caught her eye. It was still early in the morning. Just before six. She doubted Raphael would be up already.  
Glancing once more at the hammock, she was doubting if she would try to crawl back in or leave the room. Another glance at the floor made up her mind as Mona Lisa carefully slid the door open a little further and peeked into the room behind it.

A calming blue, came from the living room, which was just a bit below where she was standing. A slight ramp leading the way down.  
She noticed a mixture of red and green laying face down on a large sofa. A light snoring sound could be heard humming softly through the quiet room and a faint smile appeared on her face.

* * *

Dark shadows tried to tie her down onto the floor. She struggled as hard as she could but to no avail. She mumbled every spell she could think of, but they had no effect.  
As she was about to scream out, the face of the Raphael from her world came into view.

"Yer only good fer cleanin' up and screwin' around shinobi." He told her with a wicked grin as he took hold of her chin.

"No! I fought beside you. Beside all of you! I am your sister!" She yelled as loud as she could, but her yells came out like muffled cries.

"You are useless Venus. We can beat the Foot without your help easily!" The leader from her world suddenly spoke, before he appeared before her.

"Leonardo." She whimpered.

"Yeah shinobi. Go do something useful. Clean up the lair, make some tea for Splinter or something." The voice of Michelangelo echoed trough the darkness, but not in the cheery voice she was used to hear from him.

As both the orange clad turtle as the Donatello from her world, suddenly appeared before her, she could feel the tears stinging in her eyes.

"Donatello."

"I told you a dozen times to leave my stuff alone! You never listen. It's not your job to fight with us. Keep yourself save and do us a pleasure. Either keep out of our lives or do what you are supposed to do as a girl." He harshly told her before walking on up to her and kneeling down.

With a firm grip, he held his hands onto her hips, forcing his head into her neck. Slightly biting her skin until blood was drawn.  
Salty tears ran over her cheeks as she looked at her other brothers in the darkness with pleading eyes. They all just looked at her with a lustful gaze.  
She closed her eyes and began to sob furiously as she felt the grip of the shadows around her getting tighter. A soft voice in the distance could be heard, but she could make out what it said.  
As soon as the painful grip of her brother began, that soon it ended as well. Replacing the contact with a comforting hug and a louder whisper which kept calling her name.

"Mei."

"Mei"

"Shh don't cry Mei."

As she finally opened her eye, she noticed she was being embraced by another then her brother. The darkness was gone, only to be replaced by a soothing light and a warm aura coming from the person hugging her.  
It took a while before she recognized the voice.

"D-Donnie?" She asked in a whimper.

"Yeah it's me. Don't cry Mei. I'm here." he assured her before planting a small kiss on her scalp.

Confused about the experience she just had, she pulled away from the hug and looked at him trough watery eyes.

"You have to wake up." He told her.

"Wake...up?" She asked.

He nodded in response before he leaned towards her whispering a soft 'Wake up' before brushing his mouth slightly against hers.  
With a sudden jolt and a splitting headache, Mei awoke from her dream. Her eyes where wet and her face flustered.  
Beside her a worried looking Donatello had his hand on her shoulder.

"I'm glad. I was afraid you wouldn't wake up Mei. You where having one shell of a nightmare."

She slightly nodded.

"I didn't want to wake you at first. I did that with Raph once, he punched me in the nose because of that. But you were crying Mei I felt like I had to." He said in a whisper with a slight smile of amusement, thinking back to the time he tried to wake his brother.

"What...time?" She asked bewildered as she tried to push herself up from the bed.

"Around noon. You missed breakfast, but you needed the rest so I didn't want to wake you just yet. I have some good news though. Your friend...Mona. She's here."

As fast as she could she forced her body in a sitting position, trying to ignore the headache and wearing a huge smile on her face.  
It was the thing she was looking forward to since a long while.  
Chuckling slightly Donatello steadied her wobbling form with his arms and signed that she should stay on the bed.

"I have to chance your bandages first." He told her.

"But."

"Mona isn't going anywhere. She's got a nasty nick on her leg and it's bothering her pretty badly. Both of you are welcome to stay here for as long as you like. Or at least until you are both healed up enough." He told her as Donatello carefully wrapped the old linen from her head.

"Master Splinter doesn't mind?"

"Nah. He's pretty psyched to have both of you around."

"Psyched?" She asked in return.

"Excited. Besides April and Angel we don't get many female visitors. Especially ones who can relate to us. So...euhm...both of you are welcome to stay for as long as you...like. It'll be nice to have some new...friends around." He offered in a whisper.

"Oh no...I couldn't...I mean...I don't want to be a bother."

"You're not!" Startled by his sudden loud voice he looked at her with an apologetic look on his face before correcting himself. "I mean. You're not a bother."

"I am. You're taking care of me while you could be taking care of the security or something else to protect your family."

He chuckled slightly as he wrapped another clean bandage around her scalp.

"You're less of a bother then Mikey." He calmly stated.

She slightly chuckled before her face turned into a frown and she remembered her dream.

"Thank you...for everything. You really are too sweet."

"So you keep saying so it must be true. How's your head?" He suddenly asked wanting to change the subject.

"Like a bunch of elephants are having a party inside of it." She told him.

"Come on. Maybe a bit of sugar will help get that rid of that pounding. Then it's back to resting.

"Yes doctor."

* * *

As she walked into the living room, she noticed Mona Lisa sitting casually on the sofa, sipping from a large cup every now and then. Raphael sat next to her with an frown on his face as he watched the news.

"Raph you haven't met Mei yet. Mei, this is my older brother Raphael." Donatello introduced.

Before one of the two could reply with a 'nice to meet you', Mona had already launched herself onto the female turtle's and pulled her into a friendly embrace.

"Mei!" She shrieked in delight. "I'm so glad you're save hun."

"I'm glad to Mona." She told her friend as she returned the embrace.

When she finally let go, Mei noticed something about her friend.

"Did...did you do something with your hair?"

"Me? What about you. You didn't look like that, what happened to your...you know." She asked as she gestured wildly at her own chest area.

Slightly embarrassed, she shot a quick smile at Donatello and Raphael.

"It's nice to meet you Raphael. If you two don't mind I really need to have a word with my friend."

Confused with the short scene that had just played before them, the two brothers looked at each other with a bewildered expression.

"Must be a girl thing." Raphael muttered as he continued to watch the news.


	11. This is our problem

**Taken for Granted.**

**Chapter 11: This is our problem.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

Somewhat pushing the lizard girl into Donatello's room, Mei started to whisper to her.

"Please tell me you have the scroll."

"I was hoping you would have it." She whispered.

With a heavy moan, Mei shut the door to the room and took a seat on the bed.

"What happened to us anyway. You didn't look like that when we first met."

"How did I look Mona?"

"Like one of the guys, only a little taller and less chubby." She confessed.

"It could be an effect of the scroll."

A short moment of silence fell between the girls.

"Mona. I kind of like it in this world."

"Yeah. It's more dangerous here, but...the guys seem a lot nicer." Mona confessed.

She took a quick glance at the bandage around her friends scalp.

"How did you get that?" She suddenly asked.

"I...euhm...got frightened and slipped in the sewerway. I hit my head pretty hard. Donatello says it's an concussion and I need plenty of rest."

"I see. What got you so scared anyway? Alligators in the water?" She asked with a small laugh.

To her surprise Mei nodded.

"His name is Leatherhead. He and Donnie tended to my wounds. But you are trying to change the subject."

"So you've noticed." The lizard girl said as she also sat down on the bed.

"What are we going to do?" The turtle asked.

"I don't know Mei. We don't belong here."

Another moment of silence fell.

"Without the scroll we can't leave either."

"If we could, there is a the possibility that we could lose each other again."

"Listen Mei. I kinda broke our promise. I let Raphael help me out, I couldn't even get here if he had not insisted on carrying me over the rooftops and trough the tunnels." Mona Lisa suddenly confessed.

"I would probably not be alive either if Donatello did not take such great care for me. The Master Splinter and Michelangelo of this world are really kind hearted too."

"Not like..."

"The other ones..."

Both girls turned their gaze towards the door.

"Well we're not going anywhere until we've healed up enough. Raphael knows though. I told him we weren't from...around here."

Mei nodded, letting the lizard girl now she understood why she told him.

"I haven't told anyone yet, though these turtles are not easily fooled, so I'm sure we would have told them eventually."

Mona sighed.

"I don't...I don't want to get too attached to them. I don't want to break Raphael's heart Mei and I don't want to get my heart broken again." She plopped onto the bed and closed her eyes for a moment. "Ever since he found out I'm a mutant girl, he's been flirting like heck with me. Calling me 'sexy' and 'babe'." She chuckled lightly.

"I'm sure you can tell him if that bothers you."

The lizard mutant shook her head slightly.

"That's just it. It doesn't bother me. He's giving me more attention then the Raphael from my world ever gave and we've hardly been here a full day."

"Donatello has been awfully kind to me as well. He has such an gentle and warm aura. But like you I do not wish to hurt his feelings."

Frustrated Mona threw her hands up in the air.

"Oooh! I don't wanna stay, but on the other hand I do." Another sigh escaped her. "I'm at a loss Mei."

"I can't guarantee the next world we are traveling to, won't have any mutant turtles, or if it's going to be just like this world." The Shinobi explained.

Mona nodded.

"Then again it could be paradise?" The lizard asked the turtle.

"One thing is for sure, we can't go back."

"You're right about that. If I see that no good, chubby Raphael, I'll deck him in the face!"

"Oh no Mona I don't mean it in that way. I have no control over the spell. I can't decide where it will take us. So I'm pretty sure the changes of going back 'home' are pretty slim."

"Oh." Was her reply.

Mona pushed herself back into a sitting position.

"Besides." The female turtle started. "We can get separated again, we could lose that scroll too."

Mona frowned.

"That would certainly be troublesome."

"I'll be honest Mona. I never figured something like this would happen. I never wanted...the scroll wasn't supposed to..."

The lizard girl, carefully placed a hand on the shoulder of her friend.

"I know Mei." She whispered.

A loud knock on the door interrupted the two.

"Ya girls done in there! Lunch is ready!" The booming voice of Raphael called out to them.

"Ya think they heard?"

"You mean if they where leavesdropping?"

Mona giggled.

"Eavesdropping dear. Yes it's possible, though we weren't talking very loud, so I don't know how much they've heard." She replied with a smile.

"Maybe we should tell all of them, how we ended up here."

"Maybe, but what if we just...rest up for now and think about our dilemma. Maybe we can look for that scroll after we've healed and...decide what we should do when that moment comes."

Reluctant Mei nodded.

"You really think we should we tell them?" The brunette suddenly asked nodding her head towards the door.

Mei nodded again.

"I don't believe it matters much if we do tell them. Even if we decide to...leave this world in the end. Besides, I feel not like myself, lying like this to them."

Mona sighed. "Fine, I suppose Raphael would have told them all by now anyway."

Another loud knock interrupted them.

"Hurry up will ya! Mikey's eatin' all of the pizza!" The rough voice of the red clad turtle sounded again.

"Hold yer shell Raph! We'll be right there!" Mona yelled back.

A few minutes later, the two girls walked out of the small room. Both looked worried and conflicted.

"Are you two feeling alright?" Donatello asked suddenly as he noticed their frowned brows.

Looking at one another for a second they took a place at the large wooden table.

"I'm...feeling a bit better. Thanks to your care Donatello." The female turtle replied in a soft whisper.

"Everything is alright, why wouldn't it be." Mona added with a fake smile.

In silence the two started to eat their lunch in small bites. Trying to ignore the concerned stares of the others.

As a couple of days passed, both girls started to feel healthy again. Mona no longer limped from one room to the other and the young turtle girl could feel the dizzy spells and headaches subsiding with each new day.

During that time, neither of the turtles or Master Splinter, asked them questions about how they traveled from one dimension to the current one. Like they either weren't aware that both girls weren't from around or they didn't care. Even though Mei was sure Raphael told at least one of his brothers what Mona confessed to him on the first day they arrived. An short feeling of awkwardness overwhelmed her after that first morning after her strange journey began.

The feeling of awkwardness was quickly pushed aside, as the purple clad turtle, continued to treat her wound like he normally did. Changing the bandages every so often until the wound on her head was almost completely gone. Both of them laughed together, had pleasant conversations with each other and he even helped her train a bit when she felt good enough.

It wasn't long until a smile graced her lips each day and she was no longer worried about the turtle household suddenly asking about where she and her friend came from.

* * *

Almost a week after they arrived, they suddenly found themselves watching a movie with the turtles one night. For Mona it had been years since she last seen one. Though she didn't care much for the genre that got the most votes, she enjoyed the moving screen to it's fullest.  
For once she felt relaxed and save, a feeling she didn't know she would ever experience again since her transformation.

Slowly and carefully Raphael wrapped his large green hand on her shoulder and pressed her smaller frame against him. The constant flirting of the red clad turtle, never stopped. At times she found it sweet and at other times annoying up until the point that it almost became ridiculous.

"Raph." She scolded him in a whisper.

"What? I ain't allowed tha touch ya?"

She shook her head with a smile and a sigh.

Halfway trough the movie, the familiar jingle of the shellcell rang danced trough the large living space.

"Leo! Geez we're watchin' a movie here!"

"Sorry guys, I forgot to turn it off." Looking at the device he was surprised to see who called him.

"It's Karai." He muttered.

Walking away from the group, he answered his phone, earning a displeased look from Raphael and a skeptic gaze from his father.

"Donnie?" Mei whispered as softly as she could. "Who's Karai?"

"She's Shredders daughter. She and us are on good terms now and Leo has a thing for her." He quickly explained to her.

* * *

"Hey Karai."

"Are you alone?" She asked the blue clad turtle.

"Sort of. Is this call business or private?"

"A bit of both." She answered.

"How about I come your way and we'll discuss whatever you want during a cup of tea."

"I'll notify my guard that you are heading this way."

Leo could have sworn that he could hear a faint hint of amusement and happiness in her voice.

Turning his gaze towards the living room, he chose not too bother his family anymore and interrupt the movie again.

Quickly he send out a little text message to Donatello before heading out topside.

Jumping from rooftop, to rooftop, it didn't take long before he reached the large company building, owned by the Foot clan.

At the very top of the building, Leo could see Karai's window been left open. Something she always did when she was expecting him.

"Good evening Leonardo." She greeted him as he stepped inside the room.

"Evening Karai." He quickly gave her a peck on her cheek before sitting down on his usual spot, on the floor.

Surprised by his sudden token of affection, it took a few seconds before she realized what had happened.

"Such a bold thing to do Leonardo. I would expect that from your brother Raphael, but not you. Normally you dare not to kiss me anywhere else besides my hair."

Nonetheless she smiled and took her seat next to him.

"Well, there are two mutant girls in our lair at the moment, Donnie is falling head over heals for one and Raph has been flirting with the other. I guess their affection towards them has rubbed of on me. It...it doesn't make you feel uncomfortable right? Just say so if it does."

"It's...uncommon for me...but I'm sure I can get used to it. I am glad you are finally brave enough to give me a proper kiss."

"Hey I'm not..." When he noticed she was joking, he just sighed and smiled at her.

"I actually wanted to show you something tonight. Hun paid me a visit a couple of days ago. He brought me a scroll one of his henchmen found."

"Scroll?"

She nodded in reply before getting up from the floor to get the delicate piece of paper.

"The inscription is ancient Mandarin, but I can not decipher the entire piece. I was wondering if you could help me with this."

As Leonardo took the scroll form the young women, he frowned and raised a brow.

"Why did Hun take this to you? The Purple Dragons aren't exactly on great terms with the Foot. What do they gain from this?"

"He's blackmailing me. If it's a bluff or not, I do not know. Either way, if this piece of paper, is the key to that energy spike we picked up a few days ago, the Foot can use that energy."

"For?"

"Defeating the Purple Dragons!"

"What if this is worthless?" He asked while turning the piece of paper every way he could.

"Then Hun can have it back to use it as he pleases and he will no longer bother the Foot in certain parts of New York."

"That's...quite the deal. But I can't help you out Karai, I don't know Mandarin."

She smiled sweetly at him.

"Your brother might."

"Donnie? Oh I don't know. He's keeping himself busy with taking care of Mei and making sure she's healthy."

"Are you sure you can't convince him? I'm sure a little project like this is a cakewalk for him. It won't take much of his time." She asked in a soothing voice before giving him a small kiss on his nose.

"Oh...well...I could try."

"Thank you Leonardo."

"Was that all the business for today?"

"For now yes." As she poured in some tea for him. "Now tell me, how was your week Leonardo?"

"Well were do I start." He chuckled before taking a small sip.

* * *

Near the end of the movie, Splinter retired to his room and Mikey decided the movie wasn't interesting enough to look at anymore and left to read comic books somewhere.

Once the credits rolled, both brothers shared a quick glance before they nodded at each other.

"Sooo...pretty good movie huh?" Donnie suddenly started.

"It was nice." Mei whispered in a soft voice.

"Listen...girls...we both know that ya are not from this world. Mona told me and I told Donnie." Raph confessed.

"We kinda figured that out ourselves Raph. We were expecting any of you to ask us a ton of questions though."

"Especially Mikey." Mei added.

"We haven't told them anything about that. We just wanted to talk to you, now that you're almost better and healed up."

"Why?" The female lizard asked.

Both brothers looked at each other. Frowning a bit before Donatello answered.

"Well, we...that's meant to say, Raph and myself...we..."

The red clad turtle growled a bit.

"We kinda like yer company and we were afraid you two might hop home trough one of those magic portals that got ya here."

"We might." Mona stated.

"Or we might not." Mei added with a clear hint of doubt in her voice.

Both were still not sure if they would rather stay or find a way out of the world they were in.

"But it's nice to know ya two care so much about us." Mona told them, with an over the top sweet voice.

"It ain't no joke babe. We do care and we hate tha see ya both leave this place."

"What Raphael means to say is, that we would be very happy if you decided to stay in our world, but we understand if you want to leave and go back home."

"Oh, I'm never going back home again." Mona huffed.

"The same here."

"How come?" Donnie wanted to know.

"Well, there are these chubby little teenage mutant ninja turtles, from were I come from. They...aren't the most considerate bunch of guys around. Even for mutants."

"Meanin'?"

"Meaning I met them, fell in love with one of them and he loved me back. For a day or so, before he forgot about me and left me standing in my prettiest dress every time we were supposed to go out on a date. I'm pretty much alone in the world I'm from." Mona stated.

At first her tone was harsh and angry, but at the end of her story, the tone of her voice became soft and sad.

"Gosh...sorry babe. I didn't mean..."

"It's okay Raph. Compared to that world, this is...this is paradise."

Donnie was almost afraid to ask Mei, what made her leave her world. He was glad his brother jumped in to ask, before he got enough courage to do so himself.

"What 'bout you Mei? What made you leave?"

"An accident at first. I found this scroll while I was packing to go back home to China. The scroll took me to were Mona lived. I never meant to leave my world."

"But you were leaving for China? Did you live in the New York of your world too?" Donatello asked.

Mei nodded before pulling up her knees as she was reminded of the dreams that kept hunting her for the last couple of days.

"My brothers...they didn't treat me the way I was treated at the beginning, when I first came to New York. They pushed me into staying in the lair, cleaning up their mess. I wasn't allowed to fight anymore, they were afraid that I might have gotten hurt."

"Well that's not..."

"They treated me like an object for them to use!" She screamed out suddenly, tears already in her eyes.

"Mei." Mona whispered.

A look of concern graced Mona's face. This was a part of Mei's story that she hadn't heard yet or left out on purpose. She remembered that the girl told her that her brothers didn't treat her fair, but never that they thought her to be an object.

"The master Splinter from my world suggested that I'd go back to China. Since the tension between my brothers became worse by the day."

"Just so you know Mei...we would never..."

"I know." The female turtle interrupted Donatello.

"So...have ya girls decided if ya wanted to stay here or not."

"Gee Raph! Put more pressure on us why don't ya!" Mona scolded before playfully shoving Raph.

"The scroll is gone anyway. We'll be staying here until it's found. After that...I don't know." The female turtle whispered.

With a heavy sigh Raphael broke the sudden silence between the group.

"I'm headin' out for a ride. Any of ya wanna come with?" He asked as he pulled himself from the sofa.

"Ride on...what?" Mona asked.

"His bike of course. Raph doesn't ride on anything else." Donnie stated.

"It's Don's design, but I perfected it."

"Ruined it is more likely. How many times did I pull apart that engine block again?"

Growling Raph stomped off. Only to find out that he was followed by Mona.

"Hey wait up! I wanna go out for a ride. Some fresh air sounds great."

Smirking, the red clad turtle led her to the garage and tossed her one of the nearby helmets.

As she climbed up onto the cycle, the red clad turtle made sure his helmet was secure before letting the engine roar loudly.


	12. AUTHOR NOTICE!

_**Notice of slight importance.**_

When it comes to this story, I have to say. I'm stuck.  
Again.

I have no idea where to go from here, nor do I have the motivation to struggle with this piece any further. Looking back at the whole "plot" and everything, I'm pretty sure this isn't the most entertaining piece I've written either.

So this will be the first, and hopefully the only fanfic I'll, abandon and not finish.

I'll be leaving the chapters and the rest of the story up for everyone to read.  
If one of you wants to pick things up from where they left of. Be my guest, you hereby have my permission to succeed where I have failed.

Do drop me a PM or something if you do. I would like to read the chapters you've written for myself and I would appreciate it if credit is given where credit is due.

I truly apologize to anyone who has been following this story and giving loyal comments on each chapter.  
I just can't go on with this story because I have no idea where I want it to go or end.

Much love

**Mogwai1988**


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